BlueScope Steel Ltd ESG Investor Briefing Transcript

The following is excerpted from the question-and-answer section of the transcript.

Question: Peter Stein - Macquarie - Analyst : Good morning, Gretta, David, Mark. Thank you very much for your time. Precious -- keen to understand there was bit of a headlines yesterday around Helios and the rescoped ventures activity there while particularly interested in some of the technology that that may open up to you. Then perhaps a broader question around BlueScope ventures, how many investments you've made, how you think about the parameters of those investments? What level of control do you exercise typically? And then how are you sort of approaching what comes through this stage gates, et cetera, et cetera? Just keen to understand, your thoughts there.

Question: Peter Stein - Macquarie - Analyst : Thanks, Mark. And then if I may just ask a quick follow-up. So in the context of the Helios investment, presumably a big focus would be the scalability of whatever technology you're aiming at. Would you care to comment a little bit about the Helios technology and its potential application in the hematite spaces, as Gretta pointed out, trying to crack the code there? REFINITIV STREETEVENTS | www.refinitiv.com | Contact Us consent of Refinitiv. 'Refinitiv' and the Refinitiv logo are registered trademarks of Refinitiv and its affiliated companies. SEPTEMBER 19, 2024 / NTS, BSL.AX - BlueScope Steel Ltd ESG Investor Briefing

Question: Peter Stein - Macquarie - Analyst : Fantastic. Thanks, Gretta. I'll leave it there. Appreciate the answers.

Question: Scott Ryall - Rimor Equity Research - Analyst : Hi. Thank you so much for the briefing. So I'm going to extend on Greta's question in -- just on looking at, I guess, the slides where you're outlining the options on the DRI option, so slides 31 and 32, first of all. In terms of the partnerships and what in your -- right in your wheelhouse and what's in your partners wheelhouse, obviously the iron ore side and the steelmaking side. And then the electric -- if I look at the decarbonization pathway, DRI stands out as the area where you've got more limited experience. So I guess I'm wondering if you can give a bit more color on -- obviously, Helios is one option that you've got in terms of the partnerships that you've talked through, but I'm just looking at whether or not you think the DRI technologies that are out there at the moment are sufficient for what you need based on what you've seen so far and whether or not there's any other potential partnerships that you think can come out of your work across the value chain in that space? And maybe within the answer -- sorry, it's a long-winded question, but maybe within the answer, you can just talk to the timing, your DRI option study. Just what are the -- how are you thinking about timing and milestones at the moment, that would be great.

Question: Scott Ryall - Rimor Equity Research - Analyst : All right. Great. Thank you. And just one more, I guess, slightly more technical question. But am I right, the electric smelter furnace effectively needs to be right next to the basic oxygen furnace in that perspective pathway chart that you've shown because you've been putting hot stuff into the basic oxygen furnace?

Question: Scott Ryall - Rimor Equity Research - Analyst : Yeah. But the DRI plants or equipment doesn't need to be co-located necessarily with the electric smelting furnaces, is that correct? Just technologically speaking, I'm not talking about supply chain.

Question: Paul Young - The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. - Analyst : Good morning. Can I just ask about again, slide 31 and the DR options. Pretty impressive, you looked at 42 potential configurations. So you've clearly done a lot of work. Just to clarify, one of the options you looked at, putting in or looking at a DRI and then feeding product directly into the blast furnace like actually as it happens in some locations in the US or are you looking at looking at matching it with the BOF as opposed to trying to lift capacity within the blast furnace. REFINITIV STREETEVENTS | www.refinitiv.com | Contact Us consent of Refinitiv. 'Refinitiv' and the Refinitiv logo are registered trademarks of Refinitiv and its affiliated companies. SEPTEMBER 19, 2024 / NTS, BSL.AX - BlueScope Steel Ltd ESG Investor Briefing

Question: Paul Young - The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. - Analyst : Okay. Thanks. And then I'm really interested in that step before the DRI because most of the DRI vertical furnaces globally would you use pellets. So if you're looking at (inaudible) are you looking at pelletizing that hematite what is has done, but on high-grade ore but are you looking at pelletizing before we put into the DRI?

Question: Paul Young - The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. - Analyst : Yeah. Okay, great. And actually just really interested in the timing because we're talking about something which is well in the future and, but you have to do the studies and I understand that, but just on the perspective or the -- looking at when what the timing would look like, I mean, you're relinings blast furnace number six now, I mean, typically you get 15 years out of the blast furnace. I mean, would it make sense to actually decommission the blast furnace or is there a scenario where we'd be decommissioning the blast furnace before the end of its life? Is that the idea or we actually, are you working towards a base case where you introduce DRI at the end of the blast number six?

Question: Paul Young - The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. - Analyst : Yeah. Okay. That makes sense. And just lastly about the increase in scrap consumption, I mean, Paul Campbell is already using a lot of scrap. It's probably one of the global, I guess leaders as far as percentage of scrap consumption, what do you think you can lift it to? Are we talking modest increases here?

Question: Paul Young - The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. - Analyst : Ok, great. So that 10% is a 10% increase in what you're doing now or a 10% delta as far as relative to hot metal. So going from 20% to 30%

Question: Paul Young - The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. - Analyst : Ok. Understood. Ok. Thanks very much. Really interesting. Appreciate it.

Question: Paul McTaggart - Citigroup, Inc. - Analyst : Look I have no doubt, we can probably crack the code right with enough money thrown at DRI using (inaudible). But what I can't figure out for the life of me is, ultimately how does this progress? I mean, who's Going to pay for all the (inaudible) because it's going to be pretty substantial? And to the earlier discussion, obviously, you've got to have an electric smelter at a steel mill. So, is this a partnership with steel mills -- steel mills, we're going to produce DRI in the Pilbara Shipper HPI? I mean, I know a fortescue as a proposal to one of the (inaudible) in Australia, but I still struggle in terms of the CapEx. I mean, it's immense. You know, if you think of what it would cost to produce just a million ton of this per annum, how do you think this might play out?

Question: Paul McTaggart - Citigroup, Inc. - Analyst : No worries. I don't think there is a simple answer. Thanks, Mark.

Question: Scott Ryall - Rimor Equity Research - Analyst : Thank you. You've got my creative juices going. I had a question on New Zealand. You've more or less done half of your production into the AIF pathway and you've been very open that scrap availability was the limiting factor there. What has to happen in your view -- like what has to change in order to be able to move towards 100% production either through the AIF pathway or alternatively through some of these other pathways that you're investigating. That is -- I guess I'm asking, does the DRI, the Australian DRI options apply equally to New Zealand or is there something unique about the New Zealand market that you'd like to see change?

Question: Scott Ryall - Rimor Equity Research - Analyst : Okay, thank you. And then the as you're looking at the pathway, I get the point you made earlier around cheap gas helps and you've been, again, open that gas is a necessary pathway which I 100% agree with. As you look forward at hydrogen and I guess the -- you know, real or at least shadow carbon pricing. Do you have a view on where the hydrogen price needs to get to and where the carbon price needs to get to? So that there's actually a crossover here. I know the two are interdependent, but I'm just wondering if you cast your mine for that.

Question: Scott Ryall - Rimor Equity Research - Analyst : Yeah. Can I just ask you when, when you're -- Thank you. That was a really good answer. When you talk about needing the grid to be below, I think you said 0.15 in terms of carbon intensity compared to natural gas, is that comparing it to the DRI pathway using natural gas?

Question: Scott Ryall - Rimor Equity Research - Analyst : Understood. Thank you. And then the last one you talked to my earlier question you talked about and also with some other questions about the POSCO technology using powder. Have you looked at the [Kalyx] technology which also uses a powder as well as if you look at the arena study that they published, when was it, earlier this year?

Question: Scott Ryall - Rimor Equity Research - Analyst : Ok. Understood. That's all I had. Thank you.

Question: Daniel Kang - CLSA - Analyst : Good morning, everyone. Just had a quick question in terms of, I guess, as you're going through this and you talk to your customers, it's been the level of, I guess, acceptance of potential willingness to accept a higher premium prices for low carbon steel. REFINITIV STREETEVENTS | www.refinitiv.com | Contact Us consent of Refinitiv. 'Refinitiv' and the Refinitiv logo are registered trademarks of Refinitiv and its affiliated companies. SEPTEMBER 19, 2024 / NTS, BSL.AX - BlueScope Steel Ltd ESG Investor Briefing

Question: Daniel Kang - CLSA - Analyst : Thanks for the color, Gretta. Also, just on slide 10, just looking at the safety charts and I guess the increase in '23, '24, just wondering how much you can attribute that to the new acquisitions? And probably early days in terms of investigations, but can you just outline for us the -- what the findings have been in terms of the fatalities in FY24?

Question: Daniel Kang - CLSA - Analyst : Thanks, Mark. And just a final one, if I can, in terms of I think slide 33 collaborations with other global steelmakers. Any insights that you can call out from their own journeys, either good or bad at this point? REFINITIV STREETEVENTS | www.refinitiv.com | Contact Us consent of Refinitiv. 'Refinitiv' and the Refinitiv logo are registered trademarks of Refinitiv and its affiliated companies. SEPTEMBER 19, 2024 / NTS, BSL.AX - BlueScope Steel Ltd ESG Investor Briefing

Question: Ellie Davies - Jarden - Analyst : Hi, thanks for taking my question and congratulations on meeting your 12% intensity reduction target for steel making sites by 2030 target early. How would you respond to questions as to whether this target is ambitious enough, given you have met it six years ahead of target? Do you plan to introduce any other interim targets between then and 2050?