Indian steelmaking giant Jindal Steel has mounted a forceful final-stage case for taking over the collapsed Whyalla steelworks in South Australia, urging the community and governments to judge it on its global record rather than its pledges, as a two-horse race to acquire the historic facility enters its closing stretch.
Jindal Steel, India's third-largest steelmaker and part of a multibillion-dollar industrial conglomerate, is competing head-to-head against Australian mining and investment firm M Resources, led by coal billionaire Matt Latimore. The two bidders are vying to acquire the Whyalla steel mill, its local iron ore mines and associated port facilities from administrators.
The assets formerly belonged to British billionaire Sanjeev Gupta's GFG Alliance, which was pushed into administration just over a year ago after accumulating tens of millions of dollars in unpaid debts and royalties.
A track record, not a promise
With Whyalla's community still deeply scarred by Gupta's turbulent exit, Jindal is acutely aware that foreign ownership carries significant political and emotional weight. The company's response has been to point squarely at its operational history rather than its ambitions.
"I believe no one should believe anyone's promises — they should only trust the proof, and a demonstrated track record of what is needed here should be the proof," said Harssha Shetty, director of Jindal Steel International. "What we have done for the past 15 years is there for all to see."
Central to that argument is Jindal's experience in Oman, where the company acquired a half-completed steel complex in 2010 and transformed it over 15 years into a profitable, efficient integrated operation with one of the lowest carbon footprints of any steel producer in the region.
Shetty described the Oman project as a direct template for what Jindal intends to do in Whyalla. "If you look at the Oman story, it's a carbon copy of what we want to do in Whyalla," he said. "For us, it's a plug-and-play."
Decarbonisation plan for Whyalla steelworks
Jindal's technical proposal involves a staged replacement of Whyalla's ageing, coal-fired blast furnace. The plan would introduce direct reduced iron technology — initially powered by natural gas — alongside an electric arc furnace capable of melting scrap metal into molten steel. The company says this approach could reduce emissions at the site by as much as 30 per cent.
The sale process is being closely monitored by both the federal government and the South Australian government, which have together offered up to $1.9 billion in funding for the winning bidder to modernise the steelworks into a low-emission facility.
Shetty visited Whyalla two weeks ago and said the trip only strengthened his conviction in the site's long-term prospects, citing its integrated mines-to-metal structure, its skilled workforce and the community's appetite for a fresh start.
"I went onto the shop floor and met with senior management — they are ready to embrace change, they are hungry for change," he said. "Community is at the core of our operations, and technology switching is our expertise."
Australian rival pitches national interest case
Jindal faces a pointed counter-argument from M Resources, which has framed its bid explicitly as being in the national interest. Matt Latimore has described Whyalla's steelmaking and iron ore assets as a natural fit for his consortium and made clear he intends to fight hard for the deal.
"If our consortium were to secure this transaction it would mean placing these assets with a well-credentialed Australian-led consortium," Latimore said. "We will be laser-focused on bringing the assets to their full operational value — that means building a sustainable business to deliver security for the workforce and the community."
With governments, workers and the broader Whyalla community watching closely, the administrators are expected to weigh both financial capacity and the credibility of each bidder's operational and decarbonisation plans before making a final recommendation on who takes ownership of one of Australia's most strategically significant industrial assets.
