Australian steel manufacturer BlueScope Steel is leading an international consortium to bid for the troubled Whyalla steel mill in South Australia and has submitted a non-binding letter of intent. The international consortium consists of Japan's Nippon Steel, India's JSW Steel, and South Korea's POSCO.
The BlueScope consortium plans to carry out technological upgrades at the Whyalla steel mill after acquisition, introducing electric arc furnace (EAF) and hydrogen-based direct reduced iron (DRI) processes to increase crude steel capacity to approximately 1.5 million mt per year, significantly reduce carbon emissions, and create a model for green steel production in Australia. The transaction is expected to be completed in the second half of 2026.
The Whyalla steel mill is one of only two integrated steel mills in Australia, with a designed capacity of approximately 1.2 million mt of crude steel per year. In recent years, its actual annual production has been less than 1 million mt, with a blast furnace operating rate of around 70%. It mainly produces and rails, accounting for approximately 75% of the national supply in these categories. The mill was originally owned by the UK's GFG Alliance but was taken over by the South Australian government in February 2025 due to a financial crisis and received a combined rescue package of approximately A$2.4 billion (approximately $1.56 billion) from the federal and state governments.
