Five in the running for Whyalla Steelworks as mine site expands
The state government has revealed there are five top bidders for the Whyalla Steelworks, while a $20m expansion project promises at least 20 more years for the steel city’s manufacturing heart.
Japanese, Korean, Indian and Australian bidders are in the running to purchase the Whyalla Steelworks, South Australian Premier Peter Malinauskas announced today, a year after his government plunged the former Sanjeev Gupta-owned Steelworks into administration.
A mining consortium is also in the shortlist of five bidders that the Premier said was narrowed down after interest from 70 worldwide parties.
The government could not confirm if Melbourne-based Bluescope was one of the five bidders, and directed questions about Bluescope’s right to first refusal to administrators Korda Mentha.
“The paramount consideration of the South Australian government, who buys the Steelworks, is who has got the plan, and the capital, to invest in it,” Malinauskas said.
“What colour flag is on the front of the consortium is a consideration, but not the primary consideration.”
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More than 10 international delegations, including those from Japan, Korea, India, Vietnam and Europe, have toured the site during the sale process so far, the Premier said.
South Australian Treasurer Tom Koutsantonis earlier this month ruled out having the state government buy Whyalla Steelworks if a sale – promised within 18 months of it being thrown into administration last year – fails to meet the deadline, saying it’s Canberra’s responsibility to ensure the sovereign capability is operational.
Administrators KordaMentha are currently running the steelworks and searching for a buyer to take over the asset after it was wrestled out of the hands of OneSteel, headed by steel mogul Sanjeev Gupta. The state government has continually said that a buyer would be found by August, 2026. A second meeting of OneSteel creditors is scheduled to happen by September 30 this year.
Malinauskas was joined by Federal Senator Tim Ayres at Iron Duke, about 56km from Whyalla to give the update and announce the Magnetite Expansion Project.
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Early works on the $20 million project’s first stage are underway in the Middleback Ranges, and once complete is expected to produce 2.5 million tonnes of magnetite per year.
The $20 million project price tag was jointly funded by the state and federal government and loaned to administrators KordaMentha to invest in equipment to expand the mine as part of a $275 million funding package announced last year.
Ayres said the project “supports the move to a low-emissions iron and steelmaking in South Australia”.
Magnetite is critical to the transition to green iron and steel, and South Australia has one of the largest magnetite resources in the world, Energy and Mining Minister Tom Koutsantonis said.
The expansion “stands to mark the next chapter in the region’s industrial revolution”, he said.
“Make no mistake, there is a long road ahead but it is a road that Whyalla now travels with greater confidence.”.
The expansion would support ongoing mining for another 20 years and certainty for more than 300 jobs, Ayres said.
The state government also announced upgraded facilities to train apprentices in Whyalla, with a joint state government and OneSteel funding boost of $967,000 for local TAFE facilities.
The funding would see the TAFE campus’s Ferretti Building repurposed as a new training centre with computer numerical control machining, hydraulics and pneumatics training infrastructure so apprentices can train in an industry-standard steelmaking environment.
Malinauskas said jobs were coming online, with 27 new apprentices starting work across the steelworks and mine this month.
“The future of Australian steelmaking capacity is on firm footing, with five major players shortlisted to purchase the operations and the magnetite expansion project set to breathe new economic life into the region and the state,” Malinauskas said.
