Metallurgical coal - BHP

Contact us BHP Home - Logo About What we do Investors Sustainability Careers News Suppliers steel Home What we do Products Metallurgical coal Metallurgical coal is a black sedimentary rock found within the earth's crust. It is higher in carbon, typically low in moisture and is an essential part of the steel-making process. Download our fact sheet Share What is metallurgical coal? Metallurgical coal, also known as met and coking coal, is a naturally occurring sedimentary rock found within the earth’s crust. Met coal encompasses a wide range of quality grades including hard coking coal, semi-hard coking-coal, semi-soft coking coal and pulverised coal for injection (PCI). All are used to make steel. Met coal typically contains more carbon, less ash and less moisture than thermal coal, which is used for electricity generation. "" Prehistoric Coal is formed from prehistoric vegetation that has been heated and compressed over millions of years. "" Energy The energy we get from coal today comes from the sunlight that was absorbed by plants millions of years ago. DumpTruckicon 2021 Heavy machinery The equipment used to mine coal is huge! Excavators can weigh up to 800 tonnes and haul trucks can carry up to 300 tonnes per load. PileofBlocksicon 2021 Steel It takes around 770kgs of met coal to make the steel used in a typical mid-sized car. How is metallurgical coal used? Metallurgical coal is an essential ingredient in the production of steel, making it one of the most widely used building materials on earth. It takes around 770 kilograms of coal to make one ton of steel, with approximately 70 per cent of global steel produced in basic oxygen blast furnaces. Our challenge is to continue producing the coal required to support future construction, infrastructure and the energy transition, while reducing the greenhouse gas emissions footprint of our operations. "" Construction Most buildings, bridges and other key infrastructure projects around the world all have one thing in common - they are built with steel made from iron ore and met coal powered blast furnaces. "" Transport Every mode of transportation relies on the steel that’s produced from iron ore and met coal. That includes planes, trains, ships, trucks and cars. "" Household appliances You’ll find steel in everyday household appliances like your ovens, fridges and cutlery. How is steel made? Ovenicon 2021 Creating coke Met coal is heated above 1,000ºC in a coking oven to create coke – a hard, porous lump. Flameicon 2021 Blast furnace The coke is then added to a blast furnace with iron ore. Hot air and PCI are introduced, creating a flame temperature over 2,000ºC. Waterfallicon 2021 Converting to a liquid The burning coal and coke produces carbon monoxide, which, along with the high temperature, converts the iron ore into a liquid. PileofBlocksicon 2021 Molten steel This molten ‘pig iron’ is transported to a steel shop, where impurities are removed and alloys are added to make steel. Where is metallurgical coal found? Metallurgical coal comes mainly from the United States, Canada and Australia. We have seven operating coal mines in the Bowen Basin area of Central Queensland in Australia. Caval Ridge at dawn Queensland Queensland Coal comprises the seven BHP Mitsubishi Alliance (BMA) assets in Australia's Bowen Basin region of central Queensland. Find out more steel, bridge Think steel 0:30 Think steel When the world's cities grow, Australia grows too. As one of the world’s largest producers of iron ore, we’re helping you get to where you need to be. How is metallurgical coal mined? The methods we use to mine our coal depends on how far it is located below the Earth’s surface. Underground At our Broadmeadow mine in Central Queensland, coal is mined by a longwall shearer deep underground. The coal is then transported to the surface on a conveyor belt and stockpiled. Impurities are removed through washing and treatment at a coal handling and preparation plant. It’s then transported by train to port, loaded onto ships and exported to our customers. Open cut At our open cut mines, we extract coal from seams relatively close to the surface. We blast and remove the surface layers of soil and rock to expose the coal, which we then mine using excavators, draglines, shovels and trucks. Impurities are then removed, before being transported by train to port, loaded onto ships and exported to our customers. Where is our metallurgical coal exported to? BHP's met coal is shipped to steel mills and coking plants in China, India, Japan, South-East Asia, South Korea, Europe and Latin America. Fact about met coal BHP Home - Logo © BHP 2024 About What we do Investors Sustainability Careers News Suppliers Contact us Keep in touch Follow BHP to stay up to date Facebook, BHP Instagram, BHP Linkedin, BHP X (formerly Twitter), BHP Youtube, BHP Privacy Policy Modern Slavery Act Statement Terms of use Cookie 喜好设置