There’s a particular kind of irony building in Whyalla. The man now potentially in line to transform the troubled South Australia steelworks has just acquired the most methane-intensive coal portfolio in New South Wales. The question now remains, could this coal baron become Australia’s best hope to tackle its methane emissions?
According to reporting from the AFR, Matt Latimore’s M Resources and India’s Jindal Steel are now the last two bidders standing for the Whyalla steelworks and its Middleback Ranges iron ore mines.
While BlueScope still holds a right of last offer, it’s board is busy fending its third take-over offer this year, and South Australia Premier Peter Malinauskas has suggested that either the Indian steel major or a metallurgical coal trader could now give Whyalla “the best chance to realise the end game.”For Jindal Steel, its experience developing low-emissions iron and steel facilities in Oman and India could indeed be a boon for Whyalla. For Latimore, that end-game pitch includes a potentially innovative approach to methane pyrolysis to create what might be called, “teal steel” instead.If successful, Latimore & co. will not only be responsible for managing the steelworks, but its more than a million tonnes of CO2 emissions each year.
