Arrium (OneSteel) runs Whyalla steelworks from 2000 with national products but sinks into $2 billion+ debt by 2016
Arrium (formley OneSteel) controlled the Whyalla steelworks and harbour as well as iron ore mining operations along the Middleback Range in South Ausralia, besides its national mining consumables, steel and recycling operations.
Arrium (formerly OneSteel), a spinoff from BHP (Broken Hill Proprietary), ran South Australia’s Whyalla steelworks from 2000 until 2016 when, with nearly 10,000 workers, it went into voluntary administration with more than $2 billion debt.
Arrium, as OneSteel, was separated in 2000 from BHP who had run the Whyalla steelworks from 1941, to become a domestic steel manufacturer and distributor. Besides the steelworks, OneSteel owned Whyalla harbour and iron ore mining operations along the Middleback Range, about 50 kilometres west of Whyalla. OneSteel expanded in mining, mining consumables, steel and recycling.
In 2006, OneSteel agreed to buy out scrap metal company Smorgon Steel for US$1.2 billion. Despite concerns by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission and trade unions about job losses, the merger went through in 2007. OneSteel also started transshipping iron ore exports from the port of Whyalla. OneSteel announced in 2008 that one of the bar mills in the Hunter Valley, New South Wales, and the mill in Melbourne would close.
In 2010, OneSteel bought Chile-based forged steel grinding balls producer Moly-Cop, and Canada’s AltaSteel, a producer of ball stock for forged grinding balls, for a total $932 million. It added the iron ore assets of WPG Resources for about $320 million in 2011 while selling its Piping Systems business and associated property investments to McJunkin Red Man Holding in the United States of America for $100 million.
OneSteel was renamed Arrium in 2012 when a dua-gauge railway balloon loop was commissioned at Whyalla to increase Arrium's iron ore export capacity to 12 million tonnes a year. Arrium's iron ore exports from Whyalla peaked at 12.5 million tonnes per annum in 2013-14 and 2014-15. In 2015, Arrium's Southern Iron project, including the peculiar Knob, was mothballed. Export volumes were expected to drop to between nine and 10 million tonnes in 2015–16 and again to between six and eight million tonnes from 2017. In October 2015, the company announced it was working with the South Australian government to enable a third party to make use of the Whyalla harbour’s excess capacity.
When Arrium, announced a full-year loss of $1.9 billion in 2015, it had three primary reporting segments:
*Arrium Mining, exporting about six million tonnes of hematite Middleback Range ore per year to China,
* Arrium Mining Consumables, including Moly-Cop grinding media, the world’s largest supplier of grinding media (grinding balls and rods), servicing the global mining industry, particularly the copper, gold and iron ore sectors. The business sold about 950,000 tonnes of grinding media a year in South America, North America and Australasia.
* OneSteel Steel and Recycling, making long steel products, , structural pipe and tube, and wire products in Australia. It distributed structural steel and reinforcing in Australia through about 200 sites and supplied scrap metal foundries, smelters and steel mills in Australia and internationally.
In April 2016, Arrium's directors placed the company into voluntary administration with $2.8 billion debt and the administrators sold Moly-Cop grinding media – the company's only profitable division – for $1.6 billion to sell. In September 2017, British-owned GFG Alliance bought Arrium Mining and Arrium Steel, including Australia's main steel manufacturer and distributor, OneSteel.
The OneSteel brand was changed to Liberty OneSteel and Arrium Mining was renamed SIMEC Mining. The puchase also included the Australian reinforcing company Austube Mills; the Australian rail stockist Emrails; and product brands such as Waratah and Cyclone.
