The Whyalla Steelworks is a fully integrated steelworks and the only manufacturer of rail in Australia. It produces 75% of all structural steel in Australia. Iron ore is mined in the Middleback Range to feed the steelworks, resulting in the distribution of finished steel products of over 90 different grades. It occupies a site on the shore of False Bay, Spencer Gulf and is the largest employer in Whyalla, South Australia.
Opened in 1941, along with a major shipyard, the steelworks were owned by BHP, and many of the vessels were produced for the use of BHP Shipping. The shipyards were closed in 1978. OneSteel, later Arrium was a company spun out from BHP in 2000, and owned the steelworks until the company went into administration in 2017. It was bought by Liberty House Group, a subsidiary of the British company GFG Alliance, owned by Sanjeev Gupta, and the OneSteel brand was changed to Liberty OneSteel. After the company had incurred massive debts, the South Australian Government forced it into administration in February 2025, and the federal government announced a $2.4 billion joint state-federal support package for Whyalla and its steelworks.
History Iron ore mining The Whyalla Steelworks receives iron ore mined at various sites along the Middleback Range. Iron ore mining in this region dates back to at least 1900. Prior to the steelworks' construction, the ore was shipped from Whyalla (then known as Hummock Hill) to Port Pirie for use as a flux in smelters.Scheiffers, Sue "A Ribbon of Steel - Whyalla Surges Ahead" Lutheran Publishing House, South Australia (1985). It was later supplied to steel-making facilities at Port Kembla, New South Wales. The first shipment of iron ore by sea for Port Pirie departed Whyalla in 1903. The first mines to be developed were Iron Knob and Iron Monarch, with later developments including Iron Baron, Iron Knight, Iron Princess, Iron Chieftain and Iron Duke. The mines were developed by BHP, which went on to develop the steelworks and shipyards.
Steelworks and shipyards
The steelworks first established a plant for the production of pig-iron for sale or use at other BHP plants. The announcement was made in 1937 and South Australian legislation was prepared to facilitate the development. Water security for the project was also guaranteed by the development of the Morgan-Whyalla pipeline. The Whyalla Steelworks was opened in May 1941 with the first blast furnace "blown in". A shipyard was also constructed, designed to aid the British Commonwealth's efforts in World War II. After the war, the steelworks and shipyards continued to produce a range of products including rail track and maritime vessels for commercial use.
In the 1960s, a BOS rolling mills and coke ovens were constructed, enabling the Whyalla plant to become a fully integrated steelworks.
Various records were set and milestones met by the Whyalla shipyards. In 1947, Australia's largest domestically built vessel, the bulk carrier Iron Yampi, was launched. It was built for BHP Shipping to transport iron ore from Yampi Sound in Western Australia. In 1965, the honor was claimed again, when the Darling River was launched. With the launch of the tanker Arthur Phillip in 1974, the Whyalla shipyard passed a major milestone, having produced over one million tonnes of merchant vessels in total. The shipyard also produced the world's first gas turbine-electric powered ship, the Seaway Prince in 1975.
BHP's shipyards continued to operate until 1978. Many of the vessels were produced for the use of BHP Shipping. The eventual closure of the shipyards came as a major blow to the town of Whyalla and plunged it into an economic recession, with 1,800 workers made redundant.
Equipment development timeline
Blast Furnace No.1 was built between 1938 and 1941, blown in 1941, relined in 1965, closed in 1981 and demolished 1997. Blast Furnace No.2 was built in 1965, relined 1981 and again in 2004. The boilerhouse was built in 1941 with three boilers. Boiler No.4 was added in 1950 and Nos. 5 and 6 in the late 1960s. Only Nos. 5 and 6 remain in full-time operation, with No.4 on standby. The saltwater pump house was built in 1941 with three salt water pumps, with another three pumps added later. Only five remain, with No.1 later serving as a backup diesel pump. The coke ovens were built in the 1960s with two batteries. Another battery was added in the 1980s. The coke ovens were closed in 2023. A 1.5 GL reverse osmosis seawater desalination plant was commissioned in December 2011.
Ownership changes In October 2000, BHP spun off a new company, OneSteel, a domestically focused steel manufacturer and distributor. Apart from the steelworks, it also owned Whyalla harbour, and iron ore mining operations along the Middleback Range, about west of Whyalla. In 2011, the steelworks employed 1,600 people, down from a peak of around 6,000.
After Arrium got into financial difficulties, with debts of more than A$4 billion, it was placed into voluntary administration under KordaMentha in 2016. After 14 months, KordaMentha chose a Korean consortium supported by POSCO. However, the state government chose a different bidder. In September 2017, British-owned Liberty House Group, a subsidiary of GFG Alliance, owned by British businessman Sanjeev Gupta, acquired the Arrium Mining and Arrium Steel businesses, including Australia's main steel manufacturer and distributor, OneSteel. The OneSteel brand was changed to Liberty OneSteel and Arrium Mining was renamed SIMEC Mining. At this time the steelworks had 3,000 employees, who took a 10% pay cut in order to make the sale more acceptable. Soon afterwards, Gupta purchased a majority stake in Adelaide-based renewable energy company ZEN Energy.
In December 2017 Gupta announced a transformation of the steelworks costing $1 billion, intended to increase its output from about half to 1.5 million tonnes per year, and reduce costs of producing steel, as well as adding new offerings and widen the market. OneSteel lost A$195m in the 2018 financial year. Gupta said that he had invested money in the company, including plans to upgrade the plant at Whyalla which included a A$700m solar, battery, and pumped hydro project to power the steelworks, via Zen Energy, another GFG Alliance subsidiary. He also had plans to construct the 280-megawatt Cultana Solar Farm outside Whyalla (later abandoned).
In 2019, GFG asked the government for state backing to loan money. By June 2020, it emerged that some contractors had not been paid. In March 2021 GFG's major lender, Greensill Capital collapsed, and GFG tried to sell Cultana. In October of that year, good profits from the steelworks went towards the repayment of GFG Alliance's creditors, and it was able to restructure its international debts.
In February 2024 the state government signed an agreement to sell hydrogen to GFG from its planned 200MW hydrogen power plant near Whyalla, which would enable the production of green steel. Gupta said that he aimed to make the steelworks carbon neutral by 2030. The blast furnace was plagued by technical problems in 2024, rendering it unusable from mid-March until early July. Many staff had their shifts and wages cut during this time. In August 2024, GFG owed many more contractors tens of thousands of dollars, causing problems to their businesses, and the blast furnace once again had to shut down, this time owing to a shortage of coking coal. GFG's hematite mining operations under SIMEC were running into trouble, leading to further financial difficulties for the parent company. In November 2024 GFG Alliance secured a $150 million loan, which Gupta said he would use the money to help pay its suppliers as well as fixing the blast furnace.
In early February 2025, Gupta announced that he would be selling part or all of GFG's stake in its coal mine in New South Wales, in order to free up cash to pay suppliers. On 19 February 2025, the South Australian Government amended the Whyalla Steel Works Act 1958 to ensure that the steelworks would go into administration, in part due to the dire financial situation of GFG Alliance, with KordaMentha to take over as administrators of OneSteel Manufacturing Pty Ltd. This came after many months uncertainty for workers, and the Liberty's unpaid debts totalling more than million, including royalty payments to government as well debts to other creditors. On 20 February, the federal government under Anthony Albanese announced a $2.4 billion joint state-federal support package for Whyalla and its steelworks, which includes immediate, short-term, and long-term spending plans. SA Premier Peter Malinauskas said that it was not a bailout for GFG, and that Gupta would have to pay the company's debt to the state, after they had paid the creditors and got the steelworks rolling again. On 28 February 2025 it was reported that creditors of the Whyalla Steelworks are owed more than A$1billion, of which GFG Alliance says that it and its subsidiaries (the steelworks' largest creditors) are owed $500million.
In September 2026, the No. 2 blast furnace was permanently shut down, resulting in about 600 job losses. The blast furnace had not been operational since April and was at the end of its feasible life, having been operating since 1965.
Operations In 2024, Whyalla Steelworks was responsible for 75% of structural steel production in Australia.
The iron-making department incorporates the blast furnace, coke ovens, and the power and services departments of the Whyalla steelworks. Molten iron is supplied from here to the BOS for manufacture into steel. Coke is produced on site from coal supplied to the plant from Newcastle or Port Kembla and ships are loaded with iron ore for shipment from Whyalla's port. Finished steel products are distributed by sea, road, and rail.
Approximately 1.2 million tonnes of raw steel is produced in the steelworks each year, with about 65% of that transferred by rail to Market Mills as billets for further processing. The balance of the steel is then converted to finished products at the Whyalla Rolling Mill. These products service the construction and rail transport industries.
In 2020, the slip at the former shipyard was recommissioned as a facility to decommission, scrap and recycle (DSR) large ships. It was reported to be the only facility in Australia capable of handling ships over . The first ship through the facility was the former . The initial deconstruction work was done by McMahon Services at Port Pirie before the hull was moved across Spencer Gulf to Whyalla.
Energy The Broken Hill Proprietary Company (BHP) was responsible for bringing electricity to the townships of Iron Knob, Whyalla, their associated mines and ultimately the Whyalla steelworks. This was achieved by the construction of three powerhouses and network infrastructure to reticulate the power.
BHP commenced power supply to Whyalla in 1908 and Iron Knob in 1922. A second powerhouse was built in the 1920s to replace the first and was decommissioned in late 1941 (though it was still standing in the 1990s). The third powerhouse was built in 1941 as part of the No.1 Blast furnace. It features two turbo alternators and two turbo blowers and remains in operation. It provides electricity for use around the plant and air to the blast furnace. Compressed air is also utilised around the plant by a number of other departments.