Funding for Collie green steel bid

A plan to build a green steel recycling mill in Collie has been boosted by $2.7 million from the state government for feasibility work.

Green Steel of WA is hoping to build a $400 million project in the South West to take waste steel products and process into rebar.

The plant would have a capacity of 400,000 tonnes annually, using a 30-megawatt electric arc furnace.

Today, the state government said it would cover half the costs of a bankable feasibility study through its Collie Industry Attraction and Development Fund.

Green Steel of WA director Bob Cowan told Business News the company believed there was a viable market in the state, and the product would tick local-content boxes.

Scrap steel, which would otherwise be exported, would be used in the plant, while the rebar produced could replace imported steel for local customers, he said.

“This will be the most efficient steel mill in Australasia,” Mr Cowan said.

“Our worker productivity is basically twice that compared to those on the east coast.

“Our energy costs are very efficient, the plant itself is very efficient.”

The plant is an off-the-shelf model from Italian manufacturer Danieli, which has supplied more than 30 similar furnaces around the world.

That would reduce technology risk, Mr Cowan said.

He also talked up Collie as the right location for the project, adding that the state government was keen to secure investment in the area.

“The location (has) an experienced, skilled workforce,” he said.

“Coal miners and power station workers are well suited to the operations of steel mini mills.

“It’s very translatable, the type of skills that are required.”

The coal mining town of Collie has long been the heart of the state’s energy grid, with public and private power stations having provided baseload energy.

For the mill, the grid connections in Collie will be an advantage. 

Mr Cowan said Green Steel of WA would use renewable energy from the grid for its operations, and the business has a memorandum of understanding with Synergy for green power.

The state government is moving to shut the town's power stations down over time.

The last public-owned coal-fired power unit in Collie will shut before the end of the decade.

Nearby coal mines have also been under pressure, with Griffin Coal heading into receivership last year, and troubles at Yancoal.

More than $600 million is to be spent in the region to transition away from coal, the government has said, although that figure includes the decommissioning costs from the power plants and will fund continued operations of the mines.

Also today, the government promised $5 million for a pilot plant for Magnium Australia's proposed net-zero magnesium refinery.