Site tour reveals green steel making process
18 September 2024
The GFG Foundation continues to grow at Tahmoor Coking Coal with participating students gaining valuable industry insights from two recent site visits.
Following a tour of the SIMEC Mining Tahmoor colliery earlier this year, the Picton High and Wollondilly Anglican College students were given the opportunity to visit the GFG Alliance InfraBuild electric arc furnace (EAF) at Rooty Hill in Sydney as part of their 20-week programme.
The excursion to the steel industry game-changing furnace taught the students how steel is made using green energy and the recycled steel products. It served to ‘connect the dots’ for the students, from seeing council pick up steel items in its waste program to those items actually recycled and reused in its rolling mill to produce a range of products including bolts used at the Tahmoor mine.
One of the best things we took away was watching the students interact with the InfraBuild team
GFG Foundation mentor Mat Davies
Mat Davies, a mentor for the GFG Foundation at Tahmoor, said the students’ positive feedback showed they found the excursion valuable and interesting.
“Getting out of the classroom and walking around and interacting with the InfraBuild team at Rooty Hill was an awesome experience for the students,” Mat said. “They went from having little to no idea of what the process looks like to having a good understanding of high-level recycling and the steel making process.”
Tahmoor Executive General Manager and fellow mentor, Peter Vale echoed these sentiments.
“All the students were engaged and asked questions about the operation, I think it was really beneficial for their learning and professional skills for them to visit the plant,” Peter said.
A key GFG Foundation teaching is the development of these professional skills, known as the 10 best-self principles, as the students executed what they’ve being learning.
“One of the best things we took away was watching the students interact with the InfraBuild team,” Mat said. “They were very respectful, attentive and appreciative of the volunteers that took time of their workday to show case what they do in the steel industry to us.
“Small things like the genuine handshakes at the end of the day made many of the mentors feel as though we are making a difference.”
The GFG Foundation provides students, in the areas in which GFG operates, the opportunity to increase their STEM learnings through interactions with mentors from the relevant operation. The Tahmoor mentors work alongside the Year 9 and 10 students developing key life skills, promoting the importance of teamwork and good communication while the Year 7 and 8 programme will be launched next year.
Main picture: GFG Foundation students tour the Rooty Hill InfraBuild operation. Top right: Students are taken around the Rooty Hill site. Above right: Students receive a rundown of the Infrabuild operation.
Read more about the GFG Foundation at Tahmoor
