Green steel is rapidly emerging as the linchpin of the global decarbonisation push, reshaping demand for mining inputs and redefining the construction industry’s path to net zero.
Steel manufacturing is necessary for economic growth, however it has long been one of the most polluting industries, accounting for 8% of total global CO2 emissions, with around 75% of steel being made in coal-fired blast furnaces.
In 2020, the International Energy Agency (IEA) delivered a report outlining the rise in demand for steel, and with it, the rise in demand for coal, which is used to generate heat and make coke. Coke serves as both a fuel and reducing agent in the production of steel from iron ore.
The IEA outlines that global demand for steel will rise by more than one-third through to 2050. Under the IEA’s Sustainable Development Scenario for net zero by 2070, the average direct CO2 emission intensity from steel production must decline by 60% by 2050 to 0.6 tonnes of CO2 per tonne of crude steel.
The recycled steel industry is thriving, with steel able to be recycled repeatedly without losing fundamental properties. The recycling sector for steel has grown significantly over the past 50 years, with around 680 million tonnes (Mt) of steel recycled in 2021. The World Steel Association says this avoided more than 1 billion tonnes of CO2 emissions that would otherwise have been emitted from the production of virgin steel.
While recycling and reuse is imperative, there is not enough scrap available to meet the world’s needs.
Research and development have led to the creation of new grades of ultra-high-strength steel that can reduce the weight of steel application, meaning that fundamentally less raw material is needed in order to create high-strength products, resulting in fewer emissions.
Lightweight, high-strength steel is increasingly being adopted across industries such as automotive, construction, and renewable energy infrastructure, where reducing mass directly improves efficiency and lowers costs.
Turning the label into action
‘Green’ metals are everywhere these days, from mining pitches to investor decks, but its actual meaning is far from settled. Lithium, copper, cobalt, and other minerals are increasingly branded as ‘green’ because they feed into renewable energy or electrification.
However the label can be misleading. While metals may directly feed into the energy transition, their own environmental foodprints through extraction and processing often make them anything but green. This ambiguity over green metals shows how easily the label can be stretched.
The green steel industry is backing words with action through efforts to reduce emissions by shifting away from fossil fuels in steel production. In steelmaking, one of the biggest sources of emissions is in the generation of heat, traditionally using coal.
One pathway to green steel replaces coal-based blast-furnace route with direct reduced iron (DRI) plant. In a DRI plant, iron ore is reduced using natural gas or hydrogen, stripping away the oxygen and leaving behind a porous product known as sponge iron.
The sponge iron is then fed into an electric arc furnace (EAF), where it can be melted and refined into high-quality steel renewable electricity.
At the moment, one of the biggest barriers to the growth of the green steel industry is the availability of low-carbon, low-cost green and blue hydrogen. The World Economic Forum (WEF) notes that clean hydrogen production at scale requires billions of dollars of investment in renewable power generation.
Global policy is needed to achieve carbon neutrality. The European Union’s REPowerEU plan, for example, prioritises the development of renewable hydrogen, with the goal of producing 10Mt and importing another 10Mt by 2030. The EU is also seeking to have renewable hydrogen cover 10% of the EU’s energy needs by 2050, including in industrial processes and the transportation sector.
In Mining.com.au’s recent interview with NaturalHy’s Christophe Hecker, he noted that the fundamental problem at the moment is that green hydrogen is too expensive to produce, with European prices around €7–10 ($11.25–16.10) per kilogram.
China is also making strides toward decarbonising its steel industry, launching its first near-zero carbon steel production line in Guangdong Province in December 2025. Baowu Steel’s plant uses DRI produced in a hydrogen-based shaft furnace with an EAF, cutting carbon emissions between 50 and 80%. Baowu Steel is the world’s largest steel producer at over 130Mt of crude steel per annum.
Organisations such as Responsible Steel have laid out production standards for the responsible sourcing and production of steel, outlining requirements not only for emissions and climate change mitigation, but also for labour, human rights, water, biodiversity, and other areas. Member companies have the benefit from being able to demonstrate their adherence to these sustainability standards, which can mean greater market access, access to funding, and more.
Raw materials for the green steel revolution
Beyond the governments implementing targets, major companies adopting net zero standards, and organisations laying the groundwork for standards, junior miners are forging ahead as key suppliers in the green steel revolution.
Hawsons Iron (ASX:HIO) is advancing green steel production through its ‘high-grade’ magnetite concentrate, positioning itself at the front end of the global green steel supply chain as a potential long-term supplier. The company’s flagship Hawsons Iron Project is just 70km southwest of Broken Hill in New South Wales, Australia, and is targeting annual production of 10–12Mt of premium magnetite concentrate.
Managing Director Tom Revy says that the biggest challenge facing the industry at the moment is that decarbonisation does not happen through technological changes alone.
“You need the right raw materials,” Revy says.
“As the industry progressively moves toward lower-emissions pathways, including greater use of direct reduction and electric arc furnaces, the quality of the iron ore feed becomes increasingly important.
“That’s where we believe Hawsons has a significant advantage.”
Hawsons is targeting a magnetite concentrate containing more than 69% iron, with very low levels of impurities, making it relevant to the emerging DRI and green steel markets. This aligns with Revy’s goal of making Hawsons a strategic source of premium iron within the green steel supply chain.
Hawsons uses a dry processing circuit, ensuring that waste is removed as early as possible while also providing sustainability benefits, including reduced water usage, downstream tailings management requirements, energy consumption, and emissions. Revy also notes that the dry magnetic separation process is fundamentally a physical separation method, meaning that the company does not rely on chemical reagents during separation.
“When we talk about sustainability at Hawsons, it’s not just about producing a high-grade product that can help our customers reduce emissions,” Revy says.
“We’re also looking at how we can design the mine and processing operation itself to use less water, consume less energy, minimise chemical use, and progressively reduce its environmental footprint.”
Revy highlights that while the global steel industry is undergoing a decarbonisation transition, this will not happen overnight, with technologies such as hydrogen-based direct reduction expected to develop progressively as energy and hydrogen infrastructure becomes more readily available and cost-effective.
“Importantly, we don’t see Hawsons as being dependent upon green steel reaching maturity before the project can succeed. We plan on being part of the greener steel revolution happening right now,” Revy says.
Hawsons is currently progressing several workstreams as part of its path toward feasibility and, ultimately, development of the Hawsons Project.
In the near term, the company is focused on completing its metallurgical and by-product work, assessing opportunities to improve recoveries and potentially enhance the project’s overall economics. Revy notes that the next phase is to progressively convert recent technical work into the engineering basis for the Feasibility Study.
Green steel in Canada’s Labrador Trough
High Tide Resources (CSE:HTRC) is advancing the company’s Labrador West Project in Canada’s Labrador Trough, with a view of delivering the next generation of direct reduction feedstock through the high-purity, high-grade concentrates and pellets needed for the low-carbon steelmaking industry.
The Labrador Trough region benefits from several operating iron ore mines, established mining infrastructure, and, importantly, abundant, low-cost hydroelectric power.
Labrador West has the ability to produce a high concentrate of iron ore, at 67–68% iron, which Executive Vice President Michael Zurowski says provides real benefits to the company.
“High purity is what’s needed for direct reduction and, at present, the Labrador Trough and Brazil are the top producers of the high purity pellets needed,” Zurowski says.
Zurowski notes that one of the main issues delaying the growth of the DRI industry is the lack of high-quality direct reduction pellets. At the Labrador West Project, however, a maiden resource from 2023 indicates the potential to produce a ‘high-grade’, direct reduction-quality concentrate or pellets with few deleterious elements.
High Tide is currently engaged in metallurgical test work with Studiengesellschaft für Eisenerzaufbereitung (SGA), providing what Zurowski calls a seal of approval. The company is also in the midst of a drill program, with the second set of assay results covering six holes recently reported to the market.
Zurowski highlights that direct reduction reduces carbon emissions by about 70% compared to blast furnaces. He says DRI has increasingly factored into investment decisions as it and the EAF are a more efficient use of capital, especially in more mature developed markets over the last 25 years.
For companies like High Tide, the elimination of carbon from the steelmaking process is inevitable. However, management is aware that while customers want to purchase carbon-neutral products, they do not necessarily want to pay a “green steel” premium for them, making it necessary for the price of hydrogen to fall dramatically for commercial use.
High Tide Resources has two drill rigs operating, with its 2026 program coming to a close as the company continues to release results to the market.
CEO and President Steve Roebuck says 2026 has been all about resource expansion, with drilling this year having been outside the existing mineral resource and infill within the current pit shell, which currently stands at 655Mt grading 28.8% iron.
The company is expecting to deliver a new mineral resource estimate and a preliminary economic assessment in 2027 as it continues to advance Labrador West as a cornerstone of Canada’s green steel future.
As the steel industry accelerates toward decarbonisation, the supply chain challenge is shifting upstream. Juniors such as Hawsons Iron and High Tide Resources are positioning themselves as critical enablers, developing iron ore and direct reduction feedstock tailored for emerging low-carbon pathways.
Their progress underscores that the green steel revolution will depend not only on breakthrough technologies and policy frameworks, but also on the ability of new entrants to deliver the premium raw materials needed to make net zero ambitions a reality.
Write to Amy Rotman at Mining.com.au
Main image: Mining.com.au
