NO.

5 BLAST FURNACE RELINE PROJECT

PLANNING FOCUS MEETING
A BRIEFING PAPER

BlueScope Steel (AIS) Pty Limited

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11 November 2004

1. Briefing Paper Objectives

1.1

The purpose of this Briefing Paper is to describe the proposal for relining
the No.5 Blast Furnace and upgrading of the Sinter Plant in sufficient
detail to allow the Director General and New South Wales (NSW)
government agencies to identify their requirements as to:
a) the form and content of an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS); and
b) making the EIS available for public comment;
which requirements will be issued as Director Generals Requirements
(DGRs) for this Project.

1.2

The planning of the Sinter Plant project is not as far advanced as the No.5
Blast Furnace Reline project and it is possible that it will not go ahead.
However if it does go ahead, it will be done in conjunction with the No.5
Blast Furnace reline project. Therefore, BlueScope Steel seeks DGRs for
the following alternatives:
a) DGRs for the No.5 Blast Furnace Reline project and the Sinter Plant
Project (Project 1); and
b) DGRs for the No.5 Blast Furnace Reline project alone (Project 2).
A decision will be made later which of Projects 1 or 2 will be proceeded
with.

2. Introduction and Background

2.1

BlueScope Steel (AIS) Pty Ltd (BlueScope Steel) is a wholly owned

subsidiary of BlueScope Steel Ltd (formerly known as BHP Steel).
BlueScope Steel operates an integrated steelworks at Port Kembla. An
overview of the Port Kembla Steelworks (PKSW) site is shown in Figure 1.
The PKSW is considered internationally as one of the more innovative,
technically advanced, low cost producers of quality carbon steel.

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Sinter Plant
Raw Materials

Ironmaking
5BF

6BF

Slabmaking

Cokemaking

Figure 1. Port Kembla Steelworks

2.2

The PKSW can be subdivided into several operational plant areas. They
include:
Cokemaking
Ironmaking
Slabmaking
Packaging products (not shown, on the left of the above photo)
Hot strip and plate mills (not shown, on the left of the above photo)

2.3

The PKSW has a nominal capacity to produce 5.3 million tonnes of raw
steel per annum. The flow chart for producing steel is shown in Figure 2.

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Figure 2. Overview of Steel Production

3. Rationale of the Blast Furnace Reline

3.1

The No.5 Blast Furnace was commissioned as a new facility in 1972.

Blast Furnaces are often subjected to extreme physical stress resulting in
deterioration of the interior, thus requiring periodic repair. The major
repair in a Blast Furnaces campaign life is the replacement of the lining
traditionally known as a reline. Since its commission, No.5 Blast
Furnace has undergone 2 relines, the latest of which was in 1991. It is
assessed that based on its current condition the furnace will need to be
relined again in the latter half of the 2007 year, thereby commencing its
fourth campaign.

3.2

Relines involve removing as much of the raw materials inside the furnace
as possible, cooling the remaining materials by water quenching and
cleaning out the inside of the furnace by removing all the remaining
burden material, iron skull, worn out and damaged refractory and cooling
elements. This requires the total shut down of the Blast Furnace for an
extended period, nominally in the order of 3 months. Due to the financial

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implication of the shutdown on the business, the down-time is planned to

be kept to the very minimum whilst at the same time fully utilising the
opportunity to replace and/or repair sections or ancillary equipment
involved in the production process during this event not accessible during
operation or more economic and safer to repair during the reline down
period.
4. Economic Implications
4.1

BlueScope Steel is NSWs largest manufacturer and exporter of

manufactured product. The PKSW exports approximately two million
tonnes of steel valued at more than A$1 billion per annum.

4.2

The Nos. 5 & 6 Blast Furnaces are central to the viability of PKSW. Each
contributes equally to the total iron make. Without No.5 Blast Furnace, the
PKSW would be uneconomical.
The PKSW is a significant contributor to the Illawarra Region. It directly
employs approximately 4,200 people and provides work for approximately
2,000 contractors at the Port Kembla site alone.

4.4

A recent report from IRIS Research indicates BlueScope Steels economic

impact upon the Illawarra region, including flow on effects to be:
Some 16,000 jobs across the region;
$1.86bn in gross regional product; and
$0.9bn in household income.
5. Scope of Work for the Reline
5.1

The existing No.5 Blast Furnace at the PKSW and its ancillary structures
are depicted in Figures 3 and 4.

5.2

The reline of No.5 Blast Furnace will involve replacing the existing worn
out and damaged refractory brickwork and replacing all the damaged
internal cooling elements. This will allow the furnace to maintain its
current production, which is estimated at around 2.6 million tonnes per
annum. This maintenance work will require working on the furnaces
interior with the outer steel shell remaining largely intact. As such, the
furnace foundation will be maintained.

5.3

The process flow diagram through No.5 Blast Furnace is provided at

Figure 5.

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5.4
As part of the reline work, the following sections of the process will be
reviewed and assessed for the need to further improve current equipment
efficiency or integrity.
5.4.1 Raw Materials Stockhouse
The major raw materials utilised in iron making are iron ore and coke.
These materials are prepared at the ore preparation plant, sinter plant and
coke making facilities respectively. After preparation, they are transported
via conveyor belts to the storage bins. Other raw materials, such as
limestone, lump iron ore and iron ore pellets, are also transported from the
stockpiles into the storage bins at the Blast Furnace stockhouse. From
the storage bins, they are automatically weighed and transported via
covered conveyors and charged into the Blast Furnace. Approximately
13,000 tonnes of ore and 2,900 tonnes of coke are charged into the
furnace every day. Other than necessary maintenance work the
stockhouse and charging system will be retained in their current form.
However, during the design stage, the efficiency, load limit and reliability of
the conveyor system will be investigated and modified, if necessary.
A bag filter is utilised to ensure that fine airborne dust particulates emitted
during the transfer of raw materials from the stockhouse are collected. The
dust is filtered and collected for recycling. No modification of this system is
foreseen.

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Figures 3 & 4. Existing No.5 Blast Furnace and its Ancillary structures

Bleeders

Excess BFG Bleeders

Downcomer

Uptakes
501 Conveyor

Granulator
Stacks
Dustcatcher

Gas Cleaning
Plant

#1

Casthouse Floor

#3

Furnace proper
Hot Blast Stoves

Casthouse Floor - #2
Dedusting System

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Raw materials Charged

Through top of furnace

Excess Hot gases flow

from top of Furnace to Gas
Cleaning Plant and reused
for heating

Layers of Coke &

Ferrous materials
descend over 8 hrs to
bottom of furnace
soften then melt
Cast Iron / Copper
Stave Cooling system
Molten Iron tapped from
hole in side of furnace
into brick lined torpedo
shaped vessels. Slag
converted to either
sand-like particles in a
Granulator or rock slag
when cooled in pits

Hot Air (including

additional Oxygen) is
blown into Furnace
through Tuyeres.
Temp = 1200 Deg C
Pressure =370 Kpa
Velocity = 220 m/sec

Carbon Refractory
Lining

Figure 5 Process flow through No.5 Blast Furnace

5.4.2 Blast Furnace

The Blast Furnace is a vertical shaft of circular cross-section and stands
approximately 40 m high (although the overall facility approaches 100 m).
The vessel is internally lined with cooling elements and refractory bricks
and blocks. Iron ore, coke and fluxes are charged into the furnace to
produce molten iron and slag. The Blast Furnace operates continuously
with molten iron and slag being cast out of the furnace regularly, by
tapping three (3) tapholes in the hearth in sequence every 2 to 3 hours.
To ensure that good iron quality is produced in the furnace, the
temperature within the melting zone of the furnace is maintained at
1500oC. This requires that the refractory lining of the furnace hearth and
cooling elements are of high quality and can resist thermal spalling and

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chemical attack for a long period of time. Normally, Blast Furnace

refractory linings can efficiently operate for a period of 15 years or more
before they need to be replaced.
The planned reline will involve replacing the existing refractory brickwork
and cooling elements after quenching and cleaning out the Blast Furnace
shell. Extensive studies still have to be completed to determine the exact
quality, quantity and dimensions of this installation, but the nominal iron
production capability of the furnace will not change.
Cooling water is also necessary in the process to protect the cooling
elements within the Blast Furnace and consequently the shell integrity.
Between the furnace steel shell and the refractory lining in the hearth are
cast iron cooling elements called staves that house the cooling water
pipes. Similarly the rest of the furnace shell is also internally lined with
staves. The material of manufacture of these staves is important to the
performance and longevity of the furnace and detailed studies are yet to
be completed to finalise this matter.
Currently the system uses
recirculated water that goes through a heat exchanger. A cooling tower
then cools the water on the other side of the heat exchanger. Make-up
water from our process water system of approximately 0.75 ML/day is
required. The capability of this cooling system is being assessed although
it is expected there will not be major modification to it.
5.4.3 Hot Blast System
Pre-heated air (hot blast) is blown into the Blast Furnace to react with the
iron ore and coke materials. Using turbo blowers, atmospheric air is
charged to heating chambers called hot blast stoves. The air is heated to a
temperature of 1200 C, and piped to the Blast Furnace through the hot
blast main. There are three (3) stoves that operate in a cyclic manner to
provide a continuous supply of hot blast. The cleaned gas generated by
the Blast Furnace is used to reheat the stoves after each blast cycle. The
volume of hot air introduced into the Blast Furnace is approximately
300,000 Normal cubic metres per hour. The hot blast system operates at
a pressure of 370 kPag. During the reline, it is intended to replace the
expansion joints on the hot blast main, carry out some shell repairs,
provide a new refractory lining and additional pipe work and connections
for the provision of another stove to provide for operational security in the
future.

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5.4.4 Gas Cleaning System

Gases generated during the reduction process in the Blast Furnace pass
through the Gas Cleaning System. Furnace off-gases firstly pass through
a dust catcher to remove the large dust particles, then through a gas
scrubber and finally electrostatic precipitators to remove the fine
particulates and other gas impurities. Clean gases are piped to other
areas in the steelworks for re-use as heating gas. The pressure energy in
the gas from the furnace is recovered in a turbine and generates about
9MW of electricity that is re used internally. Currently once-through
seawater is used in cleaning the gases. Approximately 10,000 m3 of
seawater is utilised per day. The seawater goes to a thickener where the
dust and chemicals are treated before the treated water is discharged to
the blower station drain and the inner harbour. The recovered dust is
recycled internally after being briquetted. The capability of the existing gas
cleaning system is being evaluated although its functionality will remain
the same. The overall implication of changing this system to a recirculated
fresh water system is being assessed and evaluated.
5.4.5 Cast house
From the furnace, molten iron and slag is drained (cast) into a refractory
lined trough on the cast house floor. Using a skimmer, the slag is
separated from the molten iron. Approximately 750 tonnes of molten iron
and 200 tonnes of slag are tapped at each cast, and there are nominally
10 casts per day. Molten iron is transported to the Basic Oxygen Steel
making (BOS) furnace by rail using torpedo ladles for processing, whilst
slag is quenched with water to solidify the material then stored as byproduct. During the tapping, dust, kish, and SO2 are generated. An
extraction system is placed along the trough and pouring positions to
remove the airborne materials out of the plant and into dedusting
equipment. The efficiency of the dedusting equipment will be reviewed.
Slag is a mixture of mineral impurities from the iron ore and coke as well
as from the fluxes. The current methods of solidifying the slag at No.5
Blast Furnace are by quenching it with water in a pit or quenching it and
granulating it with a high pressure jet of water. Granulated slag has
similar properties to cement and can be used as a cement replacement
dependent on market conditions. The rock slag from the pit can be utilised
as road base and road surface material and other uses in the construction
industry. Rock slag and granulated slag are both made at this furnace.
The production of these slag products results in the emission of certain
levels of H2S and SO2. Minor modifications to these systems are
envisaged.
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Large amounts of the slag produced are sold into the marketplace but at
times production exceeds demand. BlueScope Steel is focused on
continually researching for additional means of reusing the slag. However,
this will involve significant amount of time and planning. A marketing plan
is being developed to determine the options and strategies for sustainable
long term recycling of all slag produced.
6. Implementation Approach and Timing
6.1

Based on the current condition of No.5 Blast Furnace, it is assessed that

the reline will be required prior to the end of 2007; otherwise, its safe and
efficient operation cannot be guaranteed. A significant amount of
preparation time is required for a reline. The bulk of the preparation will be
devoted to designing, engineering, procuring and manufacturing the
replacement equipment needed for the reline. Most of the required
equipment has a long lead time from order to delivery. The hearth
refractory blocks, for example, are made-to-order and requires
approximately a year and a half to make. A lot of this equipment is
sourced off shore. Actual reline work will be in the order of 90 days but
there will be many weeks and months of manufacture and pre-preparation
prior to the actual reline. The planning to safely undertake such a project
with intensive continuous work over this extended period and at multi
levels will take a considerable time to plan and likely involve international
expertise.
Figure 6 shows a timeframe required for achieving reline
commencement at July 2007, noting that draft approval of the
Development Application will be needed by April 2005 which is the
milestone required to commence the ordering of the various replacement
equipment.

Figure 6. Timetable for Reline.

2005

2007
Jan

Dec

Oct

Aug

Jun

May

Mar

Jan

Dec

Oct

Aug

14-Dec-07

Jun

5-Nov-07

May

2-Nov-07

Mar

4-Jul-07

5-Jul-07

Jan

29-Jun-07

2-Jul-07

Dec

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15-Jan-05

Oct

31-May-05
29-Jun-07

2006
Aug

31-May-05
1-Jun-05

Jun

31-May-05
29-Apr-05

May

11-Jan-04
29-Apr-05

Mar

3
4

Planning, design
review and approval;
Draft Approval Of
Development
Application
Board Approval
Engineering,
procurement and
manufacture
Preparation for
shutdown
Rundown, Shutdown
and Blow-out
Reline, including
Commissioning
Blow in and Uprating

Jan

Finish

Dec

Start

Oct

Task Name

11 November 2004

Following are the stages involved in the reline project:

6.1.1 Pre Reline Business Management
As a consequence of the furnace being off-line for approximately 90 days,
the significant reduction in total steel production will impact all major
customers. Consequently strategies to minimise this impact are being
assessed, and could include:
Increased production several months ahead of the outage in order to
stockpile slabs,
Importing slabs to cover customers needs,
Sharing / trading slabs with other companies.
In addition, it may be necessary to secure higher tonnages of ferrous
supplies, particularly pellets, to cater for a possible planned maintenance
outage of the Sinter plant and raw materials handling facilities.
Evaluations are presently underway to determine whether an upgrade in
sintering capacity is viable. (See section 8.0 below)
6.1.2 Design Phase
The refractory brick, blocks and cooling elements are the major items that
need to be designed and purchased. Tenders to select and approve the
suppliers of the refractory bricks and other replacement materials will
require several months to accomplish. Designing the materials to fit into
the Blast Furnace and producing them is estimated to take about 18
months.
6.1.3 Rundown
Rundown involves removing all the burden within the Blast Furnace. Upon
commencement, no materials will be charged into the system and the
reduction process allowed to continue to produce molten iron until almost
the entire burden is consumed. Water is sprayed into the burden to
prevent overheating inside the furnace. The remaining molten iron and
slag mixture in the hearth, called a salamander, will be cast from the
furnace through a series of holes drilled into the hearth, run into, and be
cooled in a specially constructed sand pit. Following this, the hot furnace
refractory and remaining burden material will be quenched with water.
The rundown and quench will be conducted and managed by BlueScope
Steel personnel with assistance from contractors. Rundown and quench
normally takes about 3-4 days.
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Excess water that will be utilised for quenching of the blast furnace during
the rundown stage and draining of the system during the reline will be
treated before discharge to drain.
During the rundown the material dumped as the salamander will be
collected and recycled.
6.1.4 Reline
Major construction work will be performed within the Blast Furnace and
surrounding facilities. Actual construction work will involve removing the
remaining burden materials, refractory bricks and blocks and cooling
elements within the interior of the Blast Furnace for replacement. Other
ancillary equipment or structures requiring repair or replacement will also
be attended to during this period. A qualified contractor will be employed
by BlueScope Steel to perform the reline work. Construction timeframe is
estimated to be of the order of 90 days.
6.1.5 Commissioning and Start Up
Following commissioning the start up will involve heating the Blast
Furnace using firing materials, e.g. firewood and coke. Once the
appropriate temperature is achieved, charging of raw Ironmaking materials
will commence. Initial products obtained will have low quality iron with
high impurities and will be treated normally as off specification material. It
is estimated that the commissioning will take about 3-4 days before the
right consistency of the product is achieved. Startup of the plant will be
under the direction and control of BlueScope Steel personnel.
The material made in the first 4 days of operation will be collected and
recycled.
7. Other Potential Environmental Impacts and Mitigating Measures
7.1

Land Modifications
The reline will involve utilising the same site as the current No.5 Blast
Furnace. The area will have minimal layout modifications. Temporary
land area may be utilised during the rundown, reline, and commissioning.
Minor excavation may be done on site.
Should groundwater be
encountered during the excavation, these will be analysed to confirm if it is
suitable for disposal to drain. Measures will be adopted to ensure that

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acceptable turbidity levels are obtained before disposal. Similarly, soils

will be analysed for contamination to ensure appropriate disposal.
7.2

Stormwater
It is expected that no changes to existing stormwater management
systems will be required as a result of the reline.

7.3

Terrestrial and Aquatic Ecology

The proposed Project has no major impact on the terrestrial and ecology
as there are no significant changes to the process or land use.

7.4

Hazards, Risk and Human Health

A hazard and risk study will be conducted to ensure that all significant
issues are addressed. One known issue is SO2 exposure at the
casthouse floor. Studies are underway to address this issue.

7.5

Noise and Traffic

The impact of noise during the construction will be limited to the
approximately 90 days reline period. No significant increase in traffic or
noise due to delivery of replacement equipment is expected. An increase
in noise levels from the gas emissions during the commissioning phase
may be experienced for several hours. The current noise levels during
operation would be similar to that when the reline has been completed.

7.6

Visual Amenity
It is not envisaged that the skyline of the Steelworks will be altered by the
reline. Modifications to be made to other structures within the Blast
Furnace area will be minor and will have little impact on visual amenity.

7.7

Heritage
There is no heritage value in the facilities that are being removed. All the
facilities are less than 50 years old.

8. Raw Materials Handling and Sinter Plant Operations during the Reline
Period
An opportunity exists to evaluate an increase in Sinter Plant capacity from
5.5 to 6.6 Mtpa during the down time of the reline. However, at this stage,
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this is still under financial and technical evaluation. The possible proposed
increase in sinter plant capacity would require significant modification to
several key areas of the sinter machine, and key sections of the raw
material yards, during a 30-35 day shutdown. These modifications are
listed generally below, however detailed design or assessment of such is
yet to be carried out.
8.1

Sinter Plant Process Description and Proposed Modifications

The Sinter Plants function is to prepare non-lump iron ore for feeding into
blast furnaces. Port Kembla has one sinter machine. No.3. The iron ore is
blended with various other materials in the blending yards prior to being
feed into a rolling drum granulator where it is moistened. The rolling drum
produces 700 tonnes an hour of mixture which is spread as a layer up to
500mm thick on a travelling grate (called a strand), which is 5m wide and
85 m long. At the start of the strand, there is an ignition hood, which
initiates combustion, and this converts the mixture to sinter. At the end of
the strand, the hot sinter falls into a cooler bed. After the cooler it is sent
to Nos. 5 or 6 Blast Furnace or to stock.

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8.1.1

Feed Preparation - Granulation

It is not proposed to change anything in this area.

8.1.2 Strand Feeding

Changes will be required to equipment at the feed end of the strand to
facilitate either, higher bed height up to 700mm side plates, or a pallet
250mm wider on each side. A smaller feed roll will also be reviewed.
Some additional instrumentation may be added to feed gates on the feed
roll. Remote motor drives on each feed gate are planned. An ultrasonic
sensor corresponding to each gate is also planned.
8.1.3

Ignition Hood.
A wider ignition hood will be required to accommodate the wider pallets.
A separate but related project is under consideration to change the
ignition hood. The alternative design may be installed before the strand
capacity increase.

8.1.3 Strand Proper

It is planned to evaluate proposals to increase strand volume, primarily
via increase in width. This will also require assessment of the ignition
system, waste gas system, strand discharge area, and cooler
performance. No increase in strand length is proposed at this time.
8.1.5

Waste Gas System

No development is proposed for the waste gas system. There are
significant Repair and Maintenance (R&M) projects that may be done at
the same time on the waste gas system, but they are not linked to the
capacity increase for justification. Major R&M projects are: replace
Electrostatic Precipitators internals; Add internals to zone 1 - this will be
capital, replace all dust hoppers below waste gas main; replace some
sections of the waste gas main - this could extend to the whole of the two
mains. Main fan impellors, casings and motors will require replacement.
This may be done at the same time.

8.1.6

Cooler
The sinter cooler will be rebuilt. The existing steelwork above the
concrete plenum chamber will be removed. The steelwork will all be
rebuilt with wider pans. The 3 existing 1.25MW fans will be removed. 2

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new 3MW fans will be installed to replace the old fans. Hot air exhausted
from the cooler may be dedusted. A range of proposals are being
evaluated. These include: Electrostatic precipitator; high temperature
baghouse; hot air recycling to the sinter strand.
8.1.7 Room Dedusting
It is planned to review potential for improvement to minimise emissions
from the building. No uprating of this system is planned at this stage.
However, proposals are being evaluated to consider this system in
conjunction with cooler dedusting.
8.1.8 Raw Materials Handling
The Raw Materials Handling facilities stock and deliver raw materials to
both the Sinter Plant and Nos.5 and 6 Blast Furnaces. While the No.6
Blast Furnace must continue to operate throughout the reline, this period
also provides a critical opportunity for maintenance and improvement of
Raw Materials Handling facilities. Under the capacity increase proposal
Carol Lake Pellets would be removed from supply. This
No.4
stacker area would then be available for the increased fines
required. Additional infrastructure required would be limited to a reclaim
and elevation sequence to take ore from No.4 stacker area to the fine ore
bins at the sinter plant. The main material going to this yard would likely
be Yandicoogina fines as it is naturally highly consistent, maintains its
handleability in wet weather and can be used at very high proportions in
sintering. Therefore, the site allows improved security to the Sinter Plant
in extreme weather conditions. These fines currently comprise some 30%
of the current sinter ore blend and such a proposal would therefore allow
the life of secondary yard piles to be significantly extended to 25 or more
days. This would not only have logistic and sequencing benefits but
would also reduce the frequency of process disruptive bed changeovers.
9.

Next Steps
On the 22 November 2004, BlueScope Steel will meet with relevant NSW
government agencies to discuss the proposals and to provide more
information to help the regulatory authorities in there preparation of the
DGRs for this Project.

9.2

As this Project is integrated development, BlueScope Steel requires the

regulators responsible for the administration of approval process to
advise BlueScope Steel of their requirements for the purposes of
obtaining DGRs for the Project.

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NOTICE
This Briefing Paper for the No.5 Blast Furnace Reline Project (Briefing Paper)
is issued by BlueScope Steel (AIS) Pty Ltd (BlueScope Steel). It is for the
use of certain New South Wales Regulators (Recipients) and their advisers to
assist the Recipients in considering their requirement for the issue of
appropriate Director Generals Requirements for the reline of the No.5 Blast
Furnace (Project).
The contents of this Briefing Paper are confidential and are made available to
each Recipient for the sole purpose of assessing the Project to formulate
Director General requirements. It is not, nor does it purport to be, all-inclusive
nor to contain all the information that Recipients may require to evaluate the
Project

All questions and queries about this Briefing Paper or the Project should be
directed to the following BlueScope Steel representative:
Mr Tom OToole
Manager EIS/Development Applications
BlueScope Steel Limited
PO Box 1854
WOLLONGONG NSW 2500
PH: 02 4275 7991
E-mail:[email protected]

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MEETING REPORT
Page 1 of 2

Date

Monday 14th March 2005

Project

BlueScope Steel EIAs

Project Number

No. 5 Blast Furnace Reline Proposal

Pickle Line Cold Mill Upgrade Proposal

Sinter Plant Upgrade Proposal

Location Wollongong City Council

Purpose of Meeting

335588

Start time 1700

Finish time

1740

To brief members of Councilors and Council Executive Committee on the capital

investment proposals BlueScope Steel is currently evaluating in the Port Kembla
Steelworks Region

Present at Meeting
Name

Organisation

Mike Archer

BSL

Darryle Lathlean

BSL

Tom OToole

BSL

Sandy Galos

BSL

Fiona Gainsford

CH2MHILL

Suburb

Wollongong

Sydney

Items Discussed
1

BlueScope Steel presented the following information on potential developments at Port Kembla Steelworks:

Context of BlueScope Steel in the region;

Purpose of the consultation;

BlueScope Steels operations and service locations;

Details regarding Port Kembla Steelworks;

Possible developments at Port Kembla Steelworks and (approximate dates of implementation) including
the Hot Strip Mill (approved 2007), No. 5 Blast Furnace Reline (2008), Pickle Line/Cold Mill Upgrade
(2007), Sinter Plant Upgrade (2008) and Co-generation Plant (2008-09);

Form 11 Meeting Report

CH2M HILL ASIA PACIFIC REGION

ISSUE 1.0 Date 17/04/2000

MEETING REPORT
Page 2 of 2

Regional employment implications of the proposed projects;

Approvals processes for projects including NSW environmental planning, involvement of Wollongong
City Council, DEC and DIPNR, and approval requirements of the BlueScope Steel Board;

Technical descriptions of the existing arrangements and possible development proposals for No. 5 Blast
Furnace Reline Project, Sinter Plant and Pickle Line Cold Mill;

Critical considerations in the planning of projects including long lead times for equipment procurements
and labour resource implications;

BlueScope Steels impact on the Illawarra economy.

The floor was opened for general discussion and the attendees were invited to ask questions regarding the
material presented. The matters discussed are captured below:

Following question time, BSL was thanked for the presentation and Council continued with its business.

Item
1

Matters Discussed
Query received relating to the timing of BSL board approval.

Action
DL
responded

Query received relating to consultation with the EPA. Response: clarification was given
about the EPAs name-change to DEC.

Question related to the planning cycle of the projects. BSL responded that the Blast
Furnace No. 5 proposal was in feasibility stage, whilst the Sinter Plant Upgrade proposal
is in pre-feasibility stage.

Answered by
DL

Question received regarding the age of the Sinter Plant

Answered by
DL

Question received about the use of the word refractory and its meaning

Answered by
DL

Concern was raised about potential impact on local tourism. Ie. If the construction
activities (requiring a large number of contractors from beyond the local area)at PKSW
coincide with a major, local tourism event there could be conflicting demands on
accommodation services in the Wollongong area.

BSL to
consult with
Tourism
Wollongong

5
6

Form 11 Meeting Report

CH2M HILL ASIA PACIFIC REGION

ISSUE 1.0 Date 17/04/2000

MEETING REPORT
Page 1 of 2

Date

24th October 2005

Project

BlueScope Steel Ore Preparation Upgrade Proposal EA

Project Number

335588

Upgrade to Sinter Plant and Raw Materials Handling Area

Location DEC Office, Wollongong

Start time 10.00am

Finish time

12.00pm

Purpose of Meeting

A meeting was held which was aimed at providing an update to government departments involved in the
Proposal, decide on Proposal timing and determine key issues

Present at Meeting
Name

Organisation

Suburb

Tom OToole

BlueScope Steel Ltd (BSL)

Wollongong

Alan OBrien

BlueScope Steel Ltd (BSL)

Wollongong

Murray Smith

BlueScope Steel Ltd (BSL)

Wollongong

Kim Morgan

Hatch Engineering

Wollongong

Trevor Jones

DEC

Wollongong

Peter Bloom

DEC

Wollongong

Rachael Harrison

WCC

Wollongong

Laurie Zammit

Environmental Prof. - Iron Making

Wollongong

Dugal McFarlane

CH2M HILL

Sydney

Form 11 Meeting Report

CH2M HILL ASIA PACIFIC REGION

ISSUE 1.0 Date 05/04/2006

MEETING REPORT
Page 2 of 2

Items Discussed
QUESTIONS/COMMENTS
General
Difficult to get Council approval by Christmas
Just received the DGRs
PFM planned for November
Scope of Work increase capacity from current 5.5 Mt/annum to 6.6Mt/annum (20% increase),
deeper and wider strand (wider by 0.5m and deeper by 0.2m), extend cooler bed, No.9 in waste gas
system, use existing fan,
Fix air-leakage will give extra capacity
Some work will need to be done before and after reline to minimize clashes/labour issues
No5. reline is September, October and November 3 months and approximately 500 people
Sinter plant 20 Days and 200 people in 4 shifts
DEC Concerns
Sinter Cooler de-dusting and energy recovery are key issues
Holmes Air Science modeling to show dust deposition out of PKSW boundary, cost to capture
($27million) out of proportion
Need to look at dust deposition on new car imports
Need to talk with Ports
Cooler Rebuild make wider (wider but shallower)
Conveyor install new conveyor to improve porosity and full height feed chute
Raw Material Handling
Are dust controls being reviewed? TS
Sprays should be able to be maintained KM
How efficient and effective are systems now? How can this be demonstrated? TS
Use tertiary treated water? KM
Track the process and circuit ASAP and when you have a firm idea, provide to the DEC, CH2M HILL
and Holmes Air Sciences. Start at sources of raw materials and follow process around 1st
November 0800 4 hrs?
Will identify areas from complaints, observations and look at problems and seek solutions
Process
DEC to talk to DIPNR
Email from Scott: Comment from old process to new TOT
Will occur under Part 3A (converted from DGRs)
TJ wants to review DGRs, pick up everything that is relevant to final scope
Timing
GTAs May 2006
Consent by May 2006
Work back from GTAs
TOT to check with Scott at DoP to ensure Sinter Plant can come separate to BF No.5 EIA?
TJ wants an update on plant wide projects to advise Minister on what projects are active and which
are beneficial. Run this by the DEC.
DEC will write draft based on scope sent to KM via Alan OBrien.
Dont have to import pellets, can make on site
When will it go into the public arena?

Form 11 Meeting Report

CH2M HILL ASIA PACIFIC REGION

ISSUE 1.0 Date 05/04/2006

MEETING REPORT
Page 1 of 4

Date

Tuesday, 1st November 2005

Project

BlueScope Steel Sinter Machine EA

Project Number

335588

Upgrade to Sinter Machine and Raw Materials Handling Area

Location BlueScope Steel, Raw Materials Handling

Area Site Offices, Port Kembla

Start time 0900am

Finish time

12.30pm

Purpose of Meeting

For BlueScope Steel to brief DEC and WCC on the scope of the proposed upgrades in the Raw
Materials Handling Area and in the Sinter Machine;

For DEC and WCC to undertake a site inspection of the facilities proposed to be upgraded;

To provide DEC and WCC with a further opportunity to identify key issues regarding the proposal and
aspects that will need to be addressed as part of the environmental assessment.

Present at Meeting
Name

Organisation

Suburb

Trevor Jones

Department of Environment and

Conservation (DEC)

Wollongong

Peter Bloem

DEC

Wollongong

Paul Wearne

DEC

Wollongong

William Dove

DEC

Wollongong

Peter Jamison

DEC

Wollongong

Rachael Harrison

Wollongong City Council (WCC)

Wollongong

Tom OToole

BlueScope Steel Ltd (BSL)

Wollongong

Kim Morgan

Hatch Engineering

Wollongong

Andrew Spence

BSL Operations Manager Sinter

Plant

Wollongong

Glen Sheppard

BSL Operations Manager Ore

Preparation Area

Wollongong

Bruce Ward

BSL

Wollongong

David Brace

BSL

Wollongong

Lawry Zammit

BSL

Wollongong

Dugal McFarlane

CH2M HILL

Sydney

Rob Salisbury

CH2M HILL

Sydney

Form 11 Meeting Report

CH2M HILL ASIA PACIFIC REGION

ISSUE 1.0 Date 17/04/2000

MEETING REPORT
Page 2 of 4

Jeff Mann

CH2M HILL

Sydney

Jackie Roberts

CH2M HILL

Sydney

Items Discussed
GENERAL OVERVIEW
The upgrade will consist of multiple discrete projects;
Sinter currently comprises 60% of Blast Furnace burden;
40% is iron ore - lump and pellets;
Raw Materials Handling uses 10 Mtpa of ore, pellets and fluxes;
17 blended piles per year each 270,000t of primary ore and 30,000t of secondary/recycled material.
Pellets imported from off-site are a significant cost to the production of sinter. The upgrade will replace
pellets with sinter which will reduce cost and increase the reuse of material on site.
Sinter Machine
New strand feeding technology
Strand widened by 500mm, height increased by 200mm to increase production by approximately
20%
Waste Gas Precipitators
o Currently 90-120mg/Nm3 3 plates
o Proposal 50-60mg/Nm3 4 plates
Room de-dusting plant
o large refurbishment and maintenance operation including replacing plates
o Waste Gas Cleaning Plant (formerly known as SMERP) has a treatment capacity of 1.4Mm3
will receive less flow than this after upgrade as a result of repair of leakage points from the
waste gas main, windlegs and electrostatic precipitators
DEC/WCC QUESTIONS/COMMENTS

Sinter Plant
Dust

Supportive in principle of replacing pellets with sinter

De-dusting and general housekeeping of dust spillage management;

Sinter Cooler - Main focus should be on incident analysis rather than day-to-day analysis. Need to
know environmental impacts (especially dust impacts) if there is, for example a:
o short circuit;
o increase in fan speeds; and/or
o strong winds
What is the zone of impact?
Holmes to look at signature particle size
What are the effects if increase production?
What are the effects of higher fan speeds/higher velocities
What heat recovery options have been considered and why have any been discounted?
In the event of wind tunneling high velocity in small area what are the off-site impacts?
Alternatives if the electrostatic precipitator upgrade estimated at $27 million was found not to be
economical, discuss why, what other alternatives to reduce dust are available?
Define what emissions are coming off Sinter Cooler zones influenced?
Will dust generated increase proportionately to the increase in Sinter Plant output?
Will the Waste Gas Cleaning Plant be matched with revised Sinter Plant output show mass
balance;
What are the impacts on the sulfur recovery plant?
What are the operational benefits of getting dust from cooler (e.g. better hygiene)
Previous impact area was residential areas within 1.5km radius. What will be the effect in 2009
when the new car handling area is developed in the adjacent port lands?

Form 11 Meeting Report

CH2M HILL ASIA PACIFIC REGION

ISSUE 1.0 Date 17/04/2000

MEETING REPORT
Page 3 of 4

Room de-dusting plant

dust spillage control
Increase in production mass balance of air pollutants will change need to match with SMERP
Impact of SRP (sulphur recovery plant)
Mass emissions of NOX especially with Natural gas firing what are the effects of the proposal on
this?
Noise
What noise increases/decreases will result from the proposal?
What will be the effect of the proposal on noise generated from the Sinter Plant?
Modelling - If poor climatic conditions, will this enhance transmission of noise generated?
intermittent complaint especially tonal component of ID fans contribute to noise signature of plant
effect of an increase in cooler fan size?
Waste
What is the overall waste profile?
Will the overall waste generated increase? If yes, how will it be managed?
Is plant designed to maximum capacity of Waste Gas Cleaning Plant?
Provide an analysis of the off-sets to cost (e.g. decrease in cleaning costs) if waste gases are
treated
Does increase in production mean increase dust loading from Waste Gas Cleaning Plant?
Is it possible to take waste gas from electro-static precipitators?
Waste Gas Cleaning Plant water treatment plant of SRG scrubber and sulphur plant (complete
April/May 2006) Needs to be designed to match maximum capacity

Raw Materials Handling Area

(BlueScopes summary)
No expected change in tonnage/materials
No.1 Berth unchanged (nominal 7000t/year difference)
No.2 berth tonnage unchanged 1 M tonnes of pellets replaced with 1 M tonnes of fine and
lump ore instead
The proposal will decrease delays to ship discharge from RMH process
Ships currently have a load of 135,000t to 140,000t to unload at a time
The proposal will have the ability to halve the ship loads
2 main changes to RMHA
1) New bypass system - new conveyors linking berths to secondary yards
Will free up No.2 stacker reclaimer
2) No.4 stacker yard currently stores Canadian pellets, Yandi fines from W.A.
construct new wall under #4 stacker
new reclaim hopper and reclaim sequence to feed sinter machine fine ore bins
i.e. second system to feed 1M tonnes of ore without taking up capacity of other systems
Current stormwater management
two large soak away pits on northern end near lumps, number 4 stacker area south, north
4 drains to handle run-off
DEC/WCC COMMENTS/QUESTIONS ON RMHA
Generally
Identify equipment and infrastructure impacted by the proposal and the linkages of changes E.g. the
change in operations of pellets will increase handling of fine material
Potential environmental impacts by an increase in throughput
Positive impacts use of conveyor instead of trucks

Form 11 Meeting Report

CH2M HILL ASIA PACIFIC REGION

ISSUE 1.0 Date 17/04/2000

MEETING REPORT
Page 4 of 4

Dust
Management of dust control and fugitives
Link project to overall site dust management strategy
Opportunities to decrease dust emissions
What is the existing dust strategy?
Mitigation of hot sinter, steam and dust coming off conveyors
Management of unprotected ends of stockpiles
Stacker dust control systems especially in hot weather
Dust impact on inner harbour upgrade
Wind tunneling in fine ore area will this result in an increase in dust emissions?
Truck/Tanker Issues
Investigation should include a decrease in truck movements which transport materials over unsealed
roads
Change of truck movements (positive and negative given introduction of additional conveyers)
Opportunity to decrease truck movements in stockpiles/generally
Stormwater controls
Capacity of existing systems
Maintenance schedules will they change as a result of the increase in fine ore handling?
Increase in fine ore handling will this change the stormwater strategy?
Noise
Characterise new potential noise as a result of proposed changes.
Different types of noise sources (quantitative/tanker movements)
Increase/decrease in tanker/truck movement?

If increase throughput show:

current adequacy of system for dust control
Capacity for it to cope under new arrangements
Truck washes and their effectiveness

Process
DEC to consider existing DGRs and outcomes of todays discussions and observations
BSL will continue to liaise with DEC
DEC to liaise with Dept of Planning to provide input of todays discussions into 3A revision of existing
DGRs
BSL will seek input from the community following feasibility approval from the BSL board
BSL maintains open internal communications with its workforce which liaises informally with the
community. This informal consultation is an effective conduit for keeping the community informed about
projects that BSL is considering. Once approved a more formal consultation will be undertaken.

Form 11 Meeting Report

CH2M HILL ASIA PACIFIC REGION

ISSUE 1.0 Date 17/04/2000

MEETING REPORT
Page 1 of 2

Date

Tuesday, 18th November 2005

Project

BlueScope Steel Sinter Machine EA

Project Number

335588

Upgrade to Sinter Machine and Raw Materials Handling Area

Location DEC Office, Wollongong

Start time 1.00pm

Finish time

3.00pm

Purpose of Meeting

To provide the DEC with a further opportunity to identify key issues regarding the proposal and aspects
that will need to be addressed as part of the environmental assessment.

Present at Meeting
Name

Organisation

Suburb

Trevor Jones

Department of Environment and

Conservation (DEC)

Wollongong

Tom OToole

BlueScope Steel Ltd (BSL)

Wollongong

Kim Morgan

Hatch Engineering

Wollongong

David Brace

BSL

Wollongong

Alan OBrien

BSL

Wollongong

Dugal McFarlane

CH2M HILL

Sydney

Katrina van Lint

CH2M HILL

Sydney

Judith Cox

HAS

Sydney

Form 11 Meeting Report

CH2M HILL ASIA PACIFIC REGION

ISSUE 1.0 Date 18/11/2005

MEETING REPORT
Page 2 of 2

Items Discussed
QUESTIONS/COMMENTS RAISED
Cooler De-dusting
Will the proposed new cooler ring increase fallout on the community?
$27m to install a baghouse and stack to meet new CAPER regulations is seen as too much.
Will the new feed system give better size distribution on the cooler bed?
Cooler Dust could be an emerging issue. Must get it correct as cooler dust has been found in the
community.
SMERP
Can the Waste Gas Cleaning Plant handle the increase in sinter production?
Will it handle increased NOx, SOx and dust?
Room De-Dusting
Areas where there is spillage need to be addressed.
Look at secondary entrainment of dust.
Examine linking with the Cooler.
Raw Materials
Dust Management.
Changes must not increase the dust signature.
LCA
Check with the Department of Planning as a LCA is not required by the DGRs.
Alternatives
Energy Optimise Sintering (EOS) opportunities are to be considered with this upgrade.
Look at stormwater run-off - are there any changes?

Form 11 Meeting Report

CH2M HILL ASIA PACIFIC REGION

ISSUE 1.0 Date 18/11/2005

MEETING REPORT
Page 1 of 2

Date

23rd March 2006

Project

BlueScope Steel Sinter Machine EA

Project Number

335588

Upgrade to Sinter Machine and Raw Materials Handling Area

Location DEC Office, Wollongong

Start time 1.00pm

Finish time

4.30pm

Purpose of Meeting

To report back the findings of the issues raised by relevant government departments in the previous
meetings.

To provide the DEC with a further opportunity to discuss the key issues regarding the proposal.

Present at Meeting
Name

Organisation

Suburb

Tom OToole

BlueScope Steel Ltd (BSL)

Wollongong

Darryle Lathlean

BlueScope Steel Ltd (BSL)

Wollongong

Kim Morgan

Hatch Engineering

Wollongong

Jim Fresh

Hatch Engineering

Wollongong

Kate Hopkins

DEC

Wollongong

Peter Jamieson

DEC

Wollongong

Paul Wearne

DEC

Wollongong

Trevor Jones

DEC

Wollongong

Judith Cox

HAS

Sydney

Dugal McFarlane

CH2M HILL

Sydney

Mathew Williams

CH2M HILL

Sydney

Form 11 Meeting Report

CH2M HILL ASIA PACIFIC REGION

ISSUE 1.0 Date 23/03/2006

MEETING REPORT
Page 2 of 2

Items Discussed
QUESTIONS/COMMENTS
Cooler De-dusting
Air quality - Will the proposed new cooler ring increase dust fallout on the local community?
Noise - Check that tones and harmonics will not cause a problem. Gates likely to be very similar to
that provided for No.5 BF Reline conditions.
Water - Ensure that stormwater collection and reuse is shown in the EA and consistent with
BlueWater initiatives.
Room De-Dusting
Air Quality - Dust fallout needs to be modeled - must meet the CAPER regulations.
EA must show the most cost effective option for minimising the puff of dust from the final rap.
Noise - Check that tones and harmonics will not cause be an issue to the local community. Review
fan sizing.
WGGP (SMERP)
Air Quality - Can the WGCP handle the increase in NOx, SOx and dust concentration limits?
Air Quality - The WGCP will remove the increased SOx but not all of the NOx.
New ignition hood will use Natural gas not Coke Ovens Gas.
Waste - Ensure that the extra dust from the EPs are disposed of effectively and that the
contaminant signature of the dust fits with the current and proposed practice.
Process control of inlet temperature to WGCP is critical and how this is done after the upgrade, must
be explained in the EA.
EA must also show how the increase in raw material mix to the sinter plant will not have an adverse
effect on ability to control Sulphur, Chlorides etc.
Schedule a meeting with DIPNR and DEC as soon as practicable. Provide DEC with a copy of
DRAFT EA ASAP.

Form 11 Meeting Report

CH2M HILL ASIA PACIFIC REGION

ISSUE 1.0 Date 23/03/2006

MEETING REPORT
Page 1 of 2

Date

5th April 2006

Project

BlueScope Steel Ore Preparation Upgrade Proposal EA

Project Number

335588

Upgrade to Sinter Plant and Raw Materials Handling Area

Location DoP Office, Sydney

Start time 10.00am

Finish time

12.00pm

Purpose of Meeting

To discuss with the DoP the 3A process, expectations of scope for the Upgrade Proposal, sign-off /
Statement of Commitments and associated corporate responsibilities for BSL and DA approval
timeframe.

Present at Meeting
Name

Organisation

Suburb

Tom OToole

BlueScope Steel Ltd (BSL)

Wollongong

Alan OBrien

BlueScope Steel Ltd (BSL)

Wollongong

Craig Tidermann

BlueScope Steel Ltd (BSL)

Wollongong

Scott Jeffries

DoP

Sydney

Rob Salisbury

CH2M HILL

Sydney

Dugal McFarlane

CH2M HILL

Sydney

Form 11 Meeting Report

CH2M HILL ASIA PACIFIC REGION

ISSUE 1.0 Date 05/04/2006

MEETING REPORT
Page 2 of 2

Items Discussed
QUESTIONS/COMMENTS
General
DA Approval timeframe is 2-3 months from date of submission.
EARs will be reverting back to DGRs in the future.
Upgrade Proposal probably will not require PPR.
A concept plan approach is not appropriate for the Ore Preparation Upgrade Proposal. However, it
may be appropriate for future projects.
Pre-evaluation sent back because the general guidelines were ignored, missed simple aspects of
EARs e.g. statement of completeness.
There is an expectation to consult with government agencies.
Refer to Fact sheet Project Approval under Part 3A.
Statement of Commitments
Proposal should include a Statement of Commitments.
Refer to No.5 BF conditions of consent.
Is there a formalized sign off process? EA should include.
Risk Assessment
What are DoP expecting (risk assessment, level of effort?).
Provide as small a document (Risk Assessment) as possible that will enable the Minister to make a
decision.
Changes of scope/modifications
What if the project changes/needs modification?
Is there a process to discuss modifications to scope? Changes to scope will need re-consultation.
What is significant change? Changes to technology are significant.
What is application process?
What is the timing?
Existing EARs discuss changes of scope and timing.

Form 11 Meeting Report

CH2M HILL ASIA PACIFIC REGION

ISSUE 1.0 Date 05/04/2006