Senior officials in the federal Department of Industry have “no visibility” of the terms of the $430 million-plus refinancing proposal between Sanjeev Gupta’s GFG Alliance and United States financier White Oak Global Advisors for the Whyalla steelworks, and are hoping for a “market-led solution” to GFG’s broader financing woes.

White Oak, headquartered in San Francisco, and Mr Gupta’s GFG Alliance have been negotiating for several weeks a refinancing proposal for around $430 million-plus of funding for the Whyalla steelworks and the Tahmoor coal operations which had previously been sourced from the failed Greensill Capital.