SIMEC Group Ltd is a British international energy and natural resources business focused on resources, sustainable power, infrastructure, and commodities trading. In 2016 it had an annual turnover of almost

USD The United States dollar (symbol: $; code: USD; also abbreviated US$ or U.S. Dollar, to distinguish it from other dollar-denominated currencies; referred to as the dollar, U.S. dollar, American dollar, or colloquially buck) is the official ...

2.5 billion and net assets of USD350 million. It is part of the Gupta Family Group ("GFG") Alliance, owned by members of the Gupta family, which had a combined turnover of more than USD13 billion and combined net assets of more than USD2.3 billion. Its activities span renewable energy generation, mining, shipping, and commodities trading. The group was founded in 1996 by Parduman K. Gupta, whose son,

Sanjeev Gupta Sanjeev Gupta (born September 1971) is an Indian-born British businessman, and the founder of Liberty House Group. He is the CEO and chairman of GFG Alliance, an international conglomerate that operates primarily in the steel and mining ind ...

, had established

Liberty House Group Liberty Steel Group Holdings UK Ltd (LHG), which is also referred to as Liberty House or Liberty House UK, is a British industrial and metals company founded in the United Kingdom in 1992 by industrialist Sanjeev Gupta. It is headquartered in ...

in 1992. Both SIMEC Group and Liberty House Group are independent companies within the GFG Alliance, of which Sanjeev Gupta became executive chairman.

SIMEC Group in Australia

In 2013, SIMEC Group refocused itself – mainly on to sustainable power, mining and infrastructure. Among many developments since then, in 2017 it acquired Arrium Mining and OneSteel operations in

South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a state in the southern central part of Australia. It covers some of the most arid parts of the country. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories ...

for USD750 million. The mining assets of the former company included iron ore (

magnetite Magnetite is a mineral and one of the main iron ores, with the chemical formula Fe2+Fe3+2O4. It is one of the oxides of iron, and is ferrimagnetic; it is attracted to a magnet and can be magnetized to become a permanent magnet itself. With ...

and

haematite Hematite (), also spelled as haematite, is a common iron oxide compound with the formula, Fe2O3 and is widely found in rocks and soils. Hematite crystals belong to the rhombohedral lattice system which is designated the alpha polymorph of . ...

) mines in the

Middleback Range The Middleback Range is a mountain range on the eastern side of Eyre Peninsula in South Australia. The Middleback Range has been a source of iron ore for over a century, particularly to feed the Whyalla Steelworks. Mines in the region were first d ...

and a dolomite mine (to supply blast furnace

flux Flux describes any effect that appears to pass or travel (whether it actually moves or not) through a surface or substance. Flux is a concept in applied mathematics and vector calculus which has many applications to physics. For transport ...

) at

Ardrossan, South Australia Ardrossan is a town in the Australian state of South Australia located on the eastern coast of the Yorke Peninsula, about by road from the Adelaide city centre. It is notable for its deepwater shipping port and its towering coastal cliffs of re ...

. In 2017, GFG Alliance purchased Arrium's

Whyalla Steelworks The Whyalla Steelworks is a fully integrated steelworks and the only manufacturer of rail in Australia. Iron ore is mined in the Middleback Range to feed the steelworks, resulting in the distribution of finished steel products of over 90 differen ...

, announcing that a new

AUD The Australian dollar (sign: $; code: AUD) is the currency of Australia, including its external territories: Christmas Island, Cocos (Keeling) Islands, and Norfolk Island. It is officially used as currency by three independent Pacific Isla ...

600 million investment would lift production to 1.8 million tonnes a year. In 2018 the company announced it would build a new steel manufacturing plant next to the existing one. It would be capable of producing 10 million tonnes a year – making it the largest in the

western world The Western world, also known as the West, primarily refers to the various nations and states in the regions of Europe, North America, and Oceania.

– and have infrastructure to eventually double that capacity. SIMEC Mining acquired mining leases in 2018 for the Iron Sultan and Iron Warrior mines in the

, 50 km (30 mi) south-west of

Whyalla Whyalla was founded as "Hummocks Hill", and was known by that name until 1916. It is the fourth most populous city in the Australian state of South Australia after Adelaide, Mount Gambier and Gawler and along with Port Pirie and Port Augusta ...

, reflecting the need for significant sources of iron ore for its expanding capacity. Another member of GFG Alliance, SIMEC Energy Australia Pty Ltd, acquired a controlling stake in South Australian renewable energy and storage technologies company, ZEN Energy Pty Ltd, in 2017 and formed a joint venture named SIMEC Zen Energy. Sanjeev Gupta said his company was investing in large-scale power projects to meet its own industrial requirements. Describing the high cost of energy for Australian consumers as "a crying shame for a country so rich in resources", he said "it has been a priority for us to take decisive remedial steps."

References

Energy companies of the United Kingdom Energy companies established in 1996 1996 establishments in England {{energy-company-stub