The government of Australia today announced the failure to revive Whyalla’s last blast furnace. Some 500 jobs are being lost, not counting workforce reductions in associated coal mining, coke making, and transportation.
Australia now has just one conventional blast furnace as coal and ore country accelerates transition to green steel production. This is yet more evidence that claims about future global demand for second-rate metallurgical coal are mere fabulations.
The Whyalla blast furnace once produced 1,200,000 of iron annually, requiring 2 million tonnes of coking coal. The Whyalla plant provided 75 percent of Australia’s structural steel consumption, primarily for rail replacement and construction products.
Sources:
Australian government intention to transition Whyalla to green steel
Global Energy Monitor current report on Whyalla steel plant
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