Huge steelworks in South Australia on the verge of collapse

The Whyalla steelworks in South Australia is on the verge of collapse, with tens of millions of dollars owed to creditors and up to 1,000 jobs on the line.

The South Australian government held an emergency meeting on the plant’s future on Wednesday morning. 

At the meeting, the state government passed legislation allowing it to act on the debts it is owed by GFG Alliance, which owns the plant that produces steel used in railways. 

The move is the beginning of a bid by the SA government to seize control of the steelworks and place it into administration. 

Premier Peter Malinauskas was due to give a press conference on Wednesday afternoon. 

The troubled steelworks is a big employer in Whyalla, a town northwest of Adelaide with a population of 22,000 people. 

It has operated at a loss for months and the SA government had grown increasingly concerned about the GFG Alliance being unable to repay its debts. 

The company, led by British billionaire Sanjeev Gupta, took over the steelworks in 2017 with promises to turn it into a ‘green steel’ plant. 

Whyalla makes the only steel used in railways in Australia along with steel beams used in high-rise buildings.

The Australian Strategic Policy Institutes regards its possible demise as a national security concern. 

The latest development is occurring only a week after American President Donald Trump announced 25 per cent tariffs would apply to steel and aluminium exported to the United States, with no exemption yet for Australia.

Whyalla is one of Australia’s only steel producers, along with BlueScope at Port Kembla in Wollongong. 

The company, led by British billionaire Sanjeev Gupta (pictured), took over the steelworks in 2017