Alter Steel is developing a low-carbon reinforcing steel mill at Pinkenba after assessing potential locations across Australia for the large-scale project.
The planned $860 million mill will sit on a 23-hectare site in Brisbane’s north, about 10 kilometres from the city centre. The location places the project close to scrap supply, port and rail infrastructure, downstream customers and critical services including power, gas, water and oxygen supply.
Alter Steel has said projects of this scale depend on market demand, scrap availability, downstream processing, infrastructure and end users being located close together. Pinkenba was identified as one of the few places where those factors aligned.
Scrap Supply Near Pinkenba Steel Mill
The mill is planned to take 550,000 tonnes of scrap steel a year from the nearby Sims Metal plant and turn it into about half a million tonnes of reinforcing steel products for construction.
The project model places scrap processing, steelmaking, downstream processing and end-market demand within the same industrial corridor. Alter Steel has said that industrial proximity is intended to shorten transport distances, improve material efficiency and reduce emissions across the supply chain.
The project also builds on Alter Steel’s existing reinforcing steel operations, which form Australia’s second-largest reinforcing steel processing and distribution network.
Lower-Carbon Steel Process Planned
The Pinkenba steel mill will use an electric arc furnace rather than a traditional integrated blast furnace.
Traditional integrated blast furnace steelmaking uses coking coal to produce the heat needed to turn iron concentrate into steel. Alter Steel’s planned process will instead use scrap steel and electric arc furnace technology, with scrap preheated before it enters the furnace to reduce power use and production time.
The company has said renewable energy sources such as wind and solar power will be used instead of coal- or gas-fired energy.
Alter Steel’s project material lists the planned process at 0.38 tonnes of CO₂ per tonne of steel, compared with 2.2 tonnes from conventional blast furnaces. It also lists an energy saving of 330kWh per tonne of steel.
Jobs And Construction Timeline
The project is expected to create more than 216 direct jobs, with the operation also expected to need workers in plant operations, maintenance and freight logistics.
Alter Steel has said Brisbane offers a strong catchment area for workers with relevant skills, while specialised training would be provided for the plant.
Main construction is planned for 2026. Completed 2025 milestones listed for the project include the Pinkenba site being secured with the Port of Brisbane, conditional development approval, geotechnical investigations, basic design and engineering, a technology supply agreement with Danieli, and a memorandum of understanding with Sims Limited for proposed scrap supply.
Alter Steel is a subsidiary of Western Australia-based Westview Group, a diversified business with building materials manufacturing operations across Australia.
Published 25-June-2026
