Realising WA's green iron potential
06.01.2025 - 12:43
Mandala has collaborated with the Chamber of Minerals and Energy Western Australia to launch a landmark report highlighting the immense decarbonisation and economic benefits of green iron produced in WA. Large-scale production of green iron in WA could reduce global emissions by 1.2 per cent by 2050 – effectively offsetting nearly every tonne of CO2 currently produced in Australia – while generating $74 billion in economic value and supporting 19,600 direct jobs. Green iron represents an opportunity for Western Australia to play a leading role decarbonising the emissions-intensive steelmaking process.
Steelmaking is highly carbon-intensive, accounting for 6% to 9% of global emissions each year. Ironmaking generates up to 90% of steel emissions under the most common process.
Current decarbonisation options for ironmaking use higher-grade iron ore feedstocks, including magnetite, or increasing production via the Direct Reduced Iron (DRI) pathway. While Direct Reduced Iron offers substantial emissions reduction potential, less than 5% of global iron ore meets the required purity level.
Transformational reductions in ironmaking emissions will require the development and commercialisation of new processes capable of producing green iron using lower-grade ore feedstocks.
As the world's largest iron ore exporter, Western Australia’s (WA) iron ore industry is actively exploring pathways to support global decarbonisation of the steel industry and generate local economic value.
If these technologies are commercialised and supported with the right policy settings, WA could produce at least 4.5Mt of green iron by 2030, with industry feedback indicating this nearer term opportunity could be larger.
Over the longer term, WA could supply in excess of 14% of global green iron by 2050, leveraging established industrial capability and renewable energy generation potential.
This could reduce global emissions by 1.2% (456Mt of CO2), nearly equivalent to Australia's current domestic emissions (465Mt of CO2), generate $74 billion in economic value in addition to iron ore exports, and support 19,600 additional ongoing direct jobs by 2050 (excluding construction jobs).
However, WA’s future position as a globally competitive green iron producer is not guaranteed.
Other regions are moving quickly to develop green iron capabilities and lower the cost of low emissions energy generation – the main cost factor in green iron production.
Read the report in full here.
Read our latest posts
How EV adoption insulates Australia against oil supply shocks
Mandala’s latest research finds that the adoption of electric vehicles is helping to insulate Australians from the oil supply shocks. This analysis looks at the contribution of Australia’s electric vehicle fleet to our petrol reserves, as well as the savings in fuel costs for Australian households.
16 Mar, 2026
Shaping the Australian banking system for a changing economy
Mandala’s latest research, prepared for the Commonwealth Bank of Australia, finds that Australian banking has been transformed beyond recognition by technology, globalisation, and regulatory change. However, policy has not kept pace. Major banks now face a shrinking revenue base while providing a growing suite of collective goods including regional branches, ATM networks, and payment infrastructure, that comparable financial institutions are not required to provide. The report finds that declining profitability and an uneven regulatory playing field amid rising geopolitical uncertainty place Australia's financial resilience at risk. It recommends three principles for policymakers to shape Australia’s banking system to best serve our national interest. First, consider system-wide impacts of policy settings. Second, apply the same obligations to firms conducting the same activities with the same risk. Third, assess how overseas firms operating in critical parts of the financial system would behave in a crisis.
15 Mar, 2026
The Fragmentation Tax
Australian retailers operate across a patchwork of inconsistent state and territory regulations that, left unchecked, will cost the economy $26 billion and households $9.4 billion over the next decade. Commissioned by the Australian Retail Council, this Mandala report finds that regulatory fragmentation in retail - Australia's second-largest employer, generating $649 billion in economic activity annually - is compounding the country's productivity crisis at the worst possible time. The report identifies specific issues in transport and logistics, and packaging and waste as priority areas for reform, where harmonisation alone would inject up to $1.65 billion into the economy over 10 years. It recommends the Federal Government use its National Competition Policy framework to drive reform - including a $260 million increase to the National Productivity Fund, a new National Harmonisation Council, and a mandate that Regulatory Impact Statements explicitly quantify fragmentation risks.
23 Feb, 2026
Reforming Victoria's Windfall Gains Tax
Victoria's Windfall Gains Tax (WGT), introduced in July 2023, has compounded a decade of new and increased property taxes that have made Melbourne the most costly major city in Australia for development. Commissioned by the Property Council Victoria, this Mandala report finds that developer taxes and charges now account for 18% of total costs on Melbourne developments - double the rate of Sydney - and that the average WGT liability pushes project returns below the viability threshold. The analysis estimates that removing the WGT could unlock $1.4 billion in additional annual investment, support 2,700 jobs and deliver the equivalent of 3,100 new homes per year by 2030. The report also presents a suite of targeted reforms across financial relief, predictability, and policy alignment that would restore investor confidence while balancing the government's revenue objectives.
23 Feb, 2026