In a statement, the company said the new ironmaking and steelmaking facilities will complement its planned construction of a new heavy-section combination rolling mill at the integrated facility. 

“We have to date invested over AU$60 million in the engineering and design work for this project and are now ready to take the next steps of finalizing funding and commencing construction,” Gupta said.  “We plan to start construction later this year for the mill, and next year in 2021 for the EAF and DRI facilities. With this, the Whyalla transformation project will finally become a reality.”

Meanwhile, the company said it is launching a three-month review of Whyalla’s legacy primary steelmaking facilities. The goal will be to identify cost savings, it said.  

“Leveraging GFG’s international operations, an expert team has been assembled with a three-month mandate to identify and implement major cost reductions and efficiency improvements. GFG’s recently announced global CEO for primary steelmaking and integrated mining, Paramjit Kahlon, will take direct responsibility for the review, working closely with GFG executive chairman Sanjeev Gupta in leading this critical activity,” it said.