In a week when the Reserve Bank of Australia decided to keep interest rates on hold and Jamie Melham became only the second female jockey to win the Melbourne Cup, Sanjeev Gupta´s GFG Alliance has attracted the steel industry headlines by suffering two significant set-backs. First, on October 30, InfraBuild, which has been the star performer in GFG´s Australian portfolio, reported a net loss after tax of $250 million in the financial year ended June 30, 2025 (FY25). This follows its $121 million loss in FY24. Then, on November 3, Liberty Primary Metals Australia (LPMA) placed itself into voluntary administration. (More on that later). InfraBuild is Australia’s largest steel long products manufacturer and employs more than 4,600 workers across the country. It is the only electric arc furnace steelmaker in Australia, as well as being the country’s second-largest metals recycler and the nation’s lowest carbon-intensive steel producer. In its results statement, InfraBuild said it sold 1.97 million metric tonnes of steel in FY25. This was a 6% drop on the previous year. It achieved revenue of $4,435 million, which was down 8% on FY24. Notwithstanding these disappointing results, InfraBuild´s CEO, Francisco Irazusta, took

an optimistic view in the statement. “While the Australian steel industry continues to experience softer sales in the short term, InfraBuild has been navigating these tough times by restructuring our operations, investing in our business and maximising our core profitable product offerings to set us up well for the future,” he said. The statement also highlighted InfraBuild´s strong balance sheet with $701.1 million total cash. However, Mr Irazusta said the company´s operations are continually threatened by the persistent increase in cheap imports arising from an over-supply of steel internationally, coupled with protectionist trade measures across Europe, Asia and the USA. He said that without a level playing field to compete against low-cost imports, the ability for InfraBuild to invest in jobs, new products and services for customers, decarbonisation efforts and longevity of a domestic manufacturing industry, is threatened. Indeed, InfraBuild´s own auditor, KPMG, identified material uncertainty over the business continuing as a going concern, as it has more than $1 billion in debt.

Mr Irazusta said InfraBuild´s commitment to manufacturing in Australia is unwavering and pointed to the $117 million of capital expenditure during the year. This included construction of a new mesh facility and a new wire cleaning house at Newcastle. “More recently in October, we announced upgrades to our steelmaking capacity at our Melbourne and Sydney sites allowing us to increase the amount of steel billets produced over the next decade, positioning InfraBuild well for the growing market demands from building and infrastructure, particularly in Queensland ahead of the Brisbane Olympic Games,” he said.

Meanwhile, Mr Gupta has placed Liberty Primary Metals Australia into administration just one day before a Federal Court hearing into whether it should be liquidated. William Buck Australia has been appointed as administrator. LPMA does not operate any businesses of its own but was GFG Alliance´s main Australian company, controlling the Whyalla steelworks in South Australia and Liberty Bell Bay manganese smelter in Tasmania. It is also the holding company for shares in the Tahmoor coal mine in NSW. On which point, Mr Gupta has been urged to either sell the Tahmoor business or pay his debts, after 250 workers were informed on October 30 that they would no longer be paid. Tahmoor is an underground mine, about 100km south of Sydney. It produces steelmaking coal and had a workforce of about 450 employees when operations were suspended nine months ago after the mine ran out of critical materials due to its owner failing to pay suppliers.

During this year, ASN has reported extensively on the government bailouts of the Whyalla Steelworks, the Mt Isa copper smelter and Nyrstar´s operations in Port Pirie and Hobart. Additionally, we have highlighted the recent campaign by the steel and manufacturing industries to achieve lower energy prices. It now appears that Tomago Aluminium may be the next casualty (or beneficiary). On October 28, the company said it may be forced to shut down as it struggles to source power at commercially viable rates beyond 2028 when its current electricity supply contract with AGL Energy expires. “Finding competitively priced energy remains the central challenge, with electricity accounting for more than 40% of Tomago Aluminium’s current operating costs. Based on market proposals received to date, the cost of both coal-fired and renewable energy options from January 2029 would increase significantly, fundamentally changing our operating economics and leaving the smelter unviable,” the company said in a press statement.

Founded in 1983, Tomago Aluminium is Australia’s largest aluminium smelter, producing up to 590,000 tonnes of aluminium a year. This is almost 40% of Australia’s annual aluminium production. Rio Tinto holds a 51.55% stake in the business, which is based in Tomago, NSW, and has more than 1,000 full-time staff and 200 contractors.

In response to the Tomago announcement, Marghanita Johnson, CEO of the Australian Aluminium Council (AAC), said: “It is now clear that market forces alone are not enough to sustain this sector in the face of state-backed competition. The aluminium industry is no longer competing against foreign companies but against foreign governments writing the rules to their own advantage”. Critics of government intervention have noted that aluminium production from countries in the OECD has fallen by 27% since 2000, as US and European smelters have closed. Meanwhile, China’s output has risen by 1,400% over the same period, making it the dominant global player. A recent report by the AAC said Indonesia is also “using its significant mineral reserves and cheap, state‑backed coal power to rapidly expand alumina refining and move into aluminium smelting”.

Australia´s Minister for Climate Change and Energy, Chris Bowen, has said all steps will be taken to see if a “sensible arrangement can be reached”.  The AAC has said: “Without a policy response, Australia risks losing not just market share – but the aluminium industry itself” as “global overcapacity, subsidised competition and rising domestic energy costs are continuing to erode production, investment and employment”.

The question is simple: “Just how much Australian government funding should go to industries being crippled by overseas competitors who receive government funding?” The answer, of course, is far more complicated.