Liberty announces significant Whyalla expansion plans

Liberty Primary Steel has announced that it will transform its operations at Whyalla, South Australia, with more than $600 million in upgrades.

Part of industrialist Sanjeev Gupta’s GFG Alliance, Liberty has effectively announced the construction of Australia’s largest steel plant, in the future to become one of the largest in the world.

Two contracts have been signed for the design of equipment and construction with contracting partners Danieli and CISDI Engineering Co. Danieli will build a new state-of-the-art rail and structural heavy section mill, while CISDI Engineering will build a pulverised coal injection (PCI) plant.

Gupta said these components would play a key role in securing Whyalla’s long-term future.

“This transformation will vastly improve the operational, financial and environmental performance of the operations, paving the way for Whyalla to become an enticing, global hub for innovative industry,” he said.

City of Whyalla Mayor Clare McLaughlin said this was yet another fantastic announcement for the community.

“Most importantly for Whyalla, this project will create thousands of additional construction jobs and several hundred ongoing, with GFG committing to prioritising local skills,” she said.

Following the announcement on progressing the Whyalla Transformation Program, Gupta shared plans for a visionary ‘Next-Gen’ mega steel plant for Whyalla, signing an engineering contract with CISDI for the ambitious project.

“Our cutting-edge transformation plans for the existing steel plant are just the beginning of what GFG Alliance has in store for the region,” Gupta said.

“Utilising almost perfect local conditions — our own infrastructure including a deep-sea port, rich local resources and unrivalled community passion — we now plan to build a new steel plant, one of the world’s largest, right here in Whyalla. ‘Liberty Next-Gen Steel’ will be … capable of producing 10 million tonnes per year, with the ability and infrastructure to double capacity in time.”

The project will be based on state-of-the-art technologies and best-in-class environmental measures. It will focus on production of semi-finished steel — slabs, blooms and billets — exported to downstream operations in key strategic and growing markets around the world.