28/08/2024
Whyalla City Council has received a briefing from GFG Alliance regarding the various concerns being raised in the media and local community, including the latest announcement of a short hot idle of the blast furnace due to an interruption in coking coal supply.
Mayor Phill Stone said GFG had assured council that this latest interim measure would enable steelmaking to continue with minimal disruption; and that they're taking every precaution heading into the hot idle to ensure there isn't a repeat of the recent blast furnace interruption.
“We feel for the people being impacted by the recent events, particularly those who have lost their jobs and any suppliers awaiting payment, as this has impacts right across the community," Mayor Stone said.
"GFG has stated that it’s working with smaller local businesses in particular to minimise ongoing impacts while it deals with all these issues, which include the market downturn and the pressure of cheap imports. This is expected to take some time, so we encourage understanding while GFG works through this challenging situation. We also encourage anyone with concerns regarding payments to contact GFG direct to discuss options.
“This has been an unfortunate series of events, but we remain confident they’ll get things back on track, with GFG emphasising to us their commitment to a long-term future in Whyalla and continued support of the local community.”
Comments have been disabled on this post, as we are unable to provide any further information due to it being a non-council-related initiative. For any queries in relation to this activity, please contact GFG via [email protected].
