The Whyalla steelworks has taken a crucial step towards the resumption of steelmaking
The Whyalla steelworks should recommence normal steelmaking soon after its damaged blast furnace hit a key milestone on the road to recovery.
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The Whyalla steelworks should be able to return to normal steel production “soon” after GFG Alliance made further progress in bringing the blast furnace back online.
The blast furnace went cold in mid-March during routine maintenance, and its restart was delayed following damage to its shell during efforts to get hot steel flowing again.
GFG said in late May the furnace had started flowing hot metal through the emergency tap hole, and on Tuesday said hot metal was now flowing through a normal tap hole.
“The successful connection to a normal tap hole was made at midday on Monday 24th June following previous repeated attempts to move from the emergency tap hole which has been used to evacuate hot molten material,’’ GFG subsidiary Liberty Primary Metals Australia (LPMA) said in a statement.
LPMA chief executive Sandip Biswas said the blast furnace was anticipated to be brought back “on wind” in coming days as expert crews continued to work towards bringing the blast furnace back to normal production.
“The connection with a usual tap hole on the blast furnace is a positive and important step on the difficult journey back to high quality steelmaking,’’ he said.
“I am grateful to our team and remain confident we will resume normal steel production soon.”
GFG Alliance executive chairman Sanjeev Gupta, who visited the steelworks in May, said at the time the schedule was to have hot metal flowing to the steelworks by some time in June.
He emphasised at the time that bringing the blast furnace back online was a “slow and precise exercise’’, adding: “It could not be rushed, our people’s safety always comes first’’.
South Australian Minister for Energy and Mining Tom Koutsantonis said the update was “very promising news for Whyalla and South Australia’’.
“My congratulations to Tony Swiericzuk and his team at GFG for this significant breakthrough,’’ Mr Koutsantonis said.
“They have worked relentlessly towards this outcome and I expect the recovery from here will be a lot quicker and smoother than we had been fearing.
“Of course, we want worker shifts at the steelworks fully reinstated as soon as possible, and this development gives us hope this can happen.
“It’s a massive relief for the people of South Australia, who are all right behind the people of Whyalla.’’
GFG plans to replace the existing blast furnace with a direct reduced iron plant and an electric arc furnace, but announced recently that the new infrastructure would not be constructed and operational until 2027, two years later than first scheduled.
Originally published as The Whyalla steelworks has taken a crucial step towards the resumption of steelmaking
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