WA’s first steel mill granted State Planning Approval

It’s official! Our Collie steel mill has been granted State Planning Approval after the WA’s Regional Development Assessment Panel gave its unanimous approval for the project.

Achieving this key milestone takes us one step closer towards making our state’s first steel mill a reality and we hope, our first move towards creating a much larger green steel industry for WA.

It was a mammoth effort by the team who completed all of the required design and planning studies in record time for a project of this size, officially lodging our development approval before Christmas of 2023, just over 5 months after the official project kick-off in July.

The Collie Steel Mill project, estimated at $400 million, represents a significant leap toward establishing Western Australia’s first green steel mill and creating a sustainable steel industry for the state.  Located near the town of Collie, the project is expected to generate over 500 new long-term positions for local workers most impacted by the energy transition as well as contribute $2.5B to WA’s economy.

The plant will not only be Australia’s first green steel mill but also the country’s first entirely new steel mill in over three decades. The plant’s operations will usher in a circular economy for steel in Western Australia by converting 500,000 tonnes of locally sourced scrap steel, currently exported for processing, into low-carbon (green) rebar—a product currently unavailable from Australian producers.

Positioned as the inaugural major facility in the newly established Coolangatta Special Industrial Area, the mill aims to catalyze Collie’s transformation into a prominent green manufacturing center. The project has garnered robust support from both local and state governments, underscoring their commitment to a Just Transition for the town of Collie.

In collaboration with the state government and major industries, Green Steel of WA is actively promoting the local recycling of scrap steel and advocating for the use of the locally produced “Collie Green Rebar” in major projects throughout the state.

Our heartfelt thanks go to all involved in facilitating this outcome.