The administrator at the Whyalla Steelworks is warning it doesn't have sufficient funding to keep the plant operating for another 12 months.
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00:00From today, the blast furnace will undergo a 36-hour shutdown to undertake some urgent
00:08repair works.
00:09That's according to the state's Minister for Energy and Mining, Tom Coutts Antonis.
00:14The newly appointed administrators of the Wyala Steelworks, Kornementha, are warning
00:19the plant is in a state of disrepair and they're extremely concerned for the health and well-being
00:25of local workers.
00:26Just a few weeks ago, the company held its first creditors' meeting where it was revealed
00:31the plant was losing $1.5 million per day.
00:36On Monday, Kornementha filed an affidavit seeking a 12-month extension for the next
00:41meeting, saying that it may take that long to be able to restructure or sell the steelworks.
00:48According to the affidavit, Kornementha says they've identified severe challenges in respect
00:53to the state of disrepair of the works.
00:56They also say that since taking control, they've also found that it's gone through
00:59a period of underinvestment, no maintenance and poor health and safety practices.
01:05Kornementha is saying that the steelworks does not have the funds to continue operating
01:10for the next 12 months and they're still trying to access financial documents and records
01:16from the previous owner, GFG Alliance.
01:19Now in response to these allegations, GFG says that safety has always been its number
01:24one priority and has made significant investment into the steelworks over the past several
01:29years.