Greensteel Australia’s Whyalla call as controversy clouds steelworks bids
A green steel business cut from the shortlist to buy Whyalla Steelworks is building a steel mill interstate – as concerns are raised about another “Gupta” buying the SA plant. Rumours swirl over the winning bid announcement date.
Whyalla locals are raising concerns about reports that Jindal Steel chair Naveen Jindal, one of two short-listed bidders for the Whyalla Steelworks, is facing court action in India despite assurances from Treasurer Tom Koutsantonis.
The state government has been questioned about the reports, as one company that was vying to buy the Whyalla Steelworks but failed to make the final bidders list announced on Tuesday that it would build a new steelmaking facility in Newcastle.
In a statement, Greensteel Australia said it would invest $500 million to build the nation’s first new steel mill in 30 years. It would also be the first to run entirely on electricity, with no gas used in the process.
The new steelworks would make rebar that is used in housing construction as opposed to Whyalla’s long steel products that are used in large construction projects and railways.
In its announcement, Greensteel Australia said the factory was expected to be built on the former home of the BHP Newcastle Steelworks and would be able to produce up to 600,000 tonnes of rebar per year with energy supplied by an electric induction furnace made by Italian company Danieli.
The all-electric-induction furnace was expected to arrive in Australia from October 2027, and Greensteel Australia said the mill was expected to be operational by January 2028.
Speaking to InDaily, Greensteel Australia president Patrick Buchan said “There is a desperate shortage of rebar in the country at the moment.”
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Buchan, a former campaign manager for the Liberal Party of Australia, said the Newcastle facility was stage one of Greensteel Australia’s larger ambitions for Australian steelmaking.
Stage two would involve the construction of a much larger steelmaking facility capable of producing ultra-long steel at four times the pace of the Whyalla Steelworks.
Greensteel Australia was yet to make a decision on where to build the larger facility but a final call would be made in the “next month or two”.
“It’s no secret that Greensteel Australia was a bidder [for the Whyalla Steelworks] and we certainly remain open to discussions on coming to Whyalla if called upon,” he said.
Asked whether Greensteel Australia was in conversations with the South Australian government, Buchan said, “We are in discussions with various governments for where we will build stage two”.
A spokesperson for Minister Koutsantonis said the state government was not in discussions with Greensteel Australia.
Meanwhile in Whyalla, some concerns have emerged over reports of Jindal facing court action.
One resident said on a Whyalla social media community group account “Great another Gupta”, while others added “Way to give the whole town PTSD” and “Here we go again”.
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While Opposition Primary Industries and Regional Development Minister Nicola Centofanti said, “South Australians don’t want to see history repeat itself”.
“We’re calling on the government to do its due diligence before it signs any contract with any of the bidders that are on the table,” she said.
“South Australians don’t want a recurrence of what we’ve seen over the last few years.”
Sanjeev Gupta was the former owner of the Whyalla Steelworks via his business GFG Alliance. The steel mill – the only of its kind in Australia capable of producing long steel products – was wrested from Gupta’s control by the state government in February last year after it racked up tens of millions of dollars of debt owed to the SA Government and other creditors.
Now reports have emerged in Indian and international publications that Jindal – nicknamed Man of Steel – was summoned to appear before an Indian court later this month over historical accusations related to the allegedly corrupt allocation of coal mines in the country.
Jindal Steel is one of two final bidders for the Whyalla Steelworks, alongside Australian billionaire Matt Laitmore’s M Resources, which was being supported by a company called Hazer Group developing a novel and yet-to-be-deployed-at-scale hydrogen energy source.
The SA and federal governments have together poured more than $2 billion to prop up the administration of the company being run by KordaMentha and to support businesses in the Upper Spencer Gulf affected by the 2025 collapse of the Steelworks.
InDaily understands any bid would likely need to at least double the amount already spent on the steelworks by the governments, making it a close to $5 billion deal.
M Resources is a metallurgical coal industry services company with no background in steelmaking, while Jindal Steel has significant experience in steelmaking and is the third-largest producer of steel in India.
The ageing blast furnace at the Whyalla Steelworks was still offline at the time of writing, SA Treasurer along with Energy and Mining Minister Tom Koutsantonis saying the government was “doing everything we can to restart it”. This means no steel has been produced since the furnace was closed down in April for urgent repairs.
The news comes as John Chapman announced his two-year term in the role of Industry Advocate had come to an end. He will continue in his other role as Whyalla Regional Coordinator until a buyer for the Whyalla Steelworks was found.
Koutsantonis has backed in Jindal, telling ABC Radio earlier this week that “What I have seen is his work is first-class, and the company is first-class”.
“We are lucky to have two bidders who are of exceptional quality.”
“My first and most important concern is Whyalla, the merits of both bids. And we will assess those merits of those bids based on the bids that have been submitted, not on what’s going on anywhere else.”
Rumours have also swirled this week that a final decision on the preferred bidder for the Whyalla Steelworks could be made next week, but a spokesperson for Koutsantonis ruled that out.
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