Tag: Whyalla steelworks

Image: GFG Alliance. Photography: Sean Kelly.   BY ELIZABETH FABRI   THE bad run has ended for the cities of the Upper Spencer Gulf, who can finally catch their collective breath as new regional investments signal hope.   Twelve months ago the Upper Spencer Gulf cities of Whyalla, Port Augusta, and Port Pirie in South Australia were existing in a state of uncertainty. In Whyalla, the sale of Arrium’s assets remained up in the air; dire times for a community which had been impacted by almost 1000 job losses leading up to Arrium entering administration. If Arrium failed to secure a new buyer, many believed Whyalla and – to a lesser extent – the State of South Australia would fall...

The Whyalla steelworks operation. Image Arrium. Photography Sean Kelly.     By Elizabeth Fabri HOME to 68 per cent of the nation’s copper and 25 per cent of the world’s known uranium, South Australia’s resources industry is an irrefutable force. Additional state government support, which aims to kick-start investment and sector growth, reflects its importance. South Australia, affectionately known as the ‘Copper Kingdom’, has been a key contributor to Australia’s mining industry as far back as the 1800s, and today boasts the world’s largest uranium deposit and the country’s largest underground mine, Olympic Dam. In 2014/15 the State’s minerals and petroleum sector had a gross value of product at $5.958 billion and regionally the industry contributed a gross regional product of $6.377bn....