Whyalla Steelworks Bidders Narrowed to Two Amid Shutdown Concerns

The federal and state governments have reduced the number of bidders for the financially stricken Whyalla steelworks from five to two. In an extraordinary series of moves in early 2025, the state government wrested control of the embattled steelworks from GFG Alliance by forcing the site into administration. Since then, attempts to secure a new buyer have been ongoing. Earlier this year, the government said the number of potentially interested parties had narrowed from 70 to five. Shortlisted bidders have been invited to submit final funding proposals, with up to $1.9 billion on the table from the state and federal governments to transition the steelworks. The steelworks blast furnace has been offline since April, with South Australian Premier Peter Malinauskas saying he was "very concerned" about the ongoing shutdown. The blast furnace faced similar shutdowns in the years before the state government put the previous owner, GFG Alliance, into administration last February. On Tuesday, Energy and Mining Minister Tom Koutsantonis described an announcement on final bidders as both "very close" and "imminent". "What we're trying to do is sell the steelworks to someone who's going to recapitalise it," he said. Those comments came amid renewed concern about the condition of the blast furnace, which is critical to steel production but went offline last month and was later described by the premier as being in a "very vulnerable situation". "Those guys up there are carrying a town on their shoulders. They want to keep this blast furnace open for us as long as possible," Mr Koutsantonis said. "The amount of money we've spent on maintenance is huge. "We've got the recapitalisation money sitting there for a new purchaser. "Ultimately, that blast furnace is going to go cold, but when it does, it's going to be replaced with a direct iron reduction facility and an electric arc furnace, which means that ultimately the steelworks will survive."