Greensteel Australia’s $500M investment returns steelmaking to the NSW Hunter region
Greensteel Australia has secured a historic 70,000 square metre site at 51 Industrial Drive, Mayfield North, and will invest $500 million to build Australia’s first new steel mill in more than 30 years. The mill will be the first in the country to run entirely on electricity, with no gas used anywhere in the process.
Australia’s first new steel mill in over 30 years signals the return of domestic manufacturing
From left to right: Nicola Patrizi (Asia Pacific managing director Danieli), Mena Ibrahim (president and executive director of Greensteel Australia), Prof Ross Garnaut AC (advisory group chair Greensteel) and Romany Ibrahim (executive chairman and CEO of Greensteel Australia)
The Greensteel Australia site was home to the BHP Newcastle Steelworks for most of the twentieth century. Greensteel Australia’s investment will return steel manufacturing to the Hunter region.
Greensteel Australia head of government relations, Patrick Buchan, said, “The investment was made possible by the recent policy directions set by the NSW and Federal Governments. The Future Made in Australia agenda, together with national and state housing targets and NSW’s support for industry in the Hunter, has given us the certainty we need to manufacture steel in Australia rather than overseas.”
“Australia stopped building steel mills a generation ago. Thanks to the leadership of the NSW and Federal Governments, we’re building again,” Greensteel Australia chief executive officer Romany Ibrahim said. “They’ve made it possible to bring manufacturing home to Newcastle, where Australian steelmaking began and where it never should have left.”
The mill will produce up to 600,000 tonnes of finished steel per year for the housing, transport and energy sectors. Greensteel Australia expects the extra local supply to reduce the construction industry’s reliance on imported steel and, over time, help stabilise and bring down steel prices for Australian builders. Because the process produces no direct CO₂, it will also lower the embodied carbon of Australian construction, supporting state and federal housing targets, including the national goal of 1.2 million new homes.
Refurbishment and modernisation at the site will begin before the end of this year. The all-electric-induction furnace to be supplied by Danieli, is expected to arrive from October 2027, and the mill is expected to be operational by January 2028.
Steel will be forged at Mayfield, with reinforcing bar the first product and wire rod and coil planned for future stages. The mill will directly employ over 200 direct full-time staff, including fitters, electricians, crane drivers, metallurgists and engineers, with more jobs created during construction and through Hunter supply chains.