28th July: Got up early to a wonderful sunrise over the beach and a visually spectacular group of photogenic pelicans! Left our wonderful campsite to go on a tour of the Whyalla steel works. The steelworks are huge, but the multiple buildings looked like factories in the time of the dark satanic mills! The steelworks have not really been updated since the time when they were built in the 1960’s. The water for the steel works originally came from the Murray River, but now comes from a bore, recycled storm water and recycled water used in the various steel making processes. Many, many native trees have been individually planted on the factory site, built on reclaimed land. There apparently was even a tree nursery on site to grow up these trees for use on site. There is also a very healthy looking mangrove swamp adjacent to the water supply, with swans  swimming on this body of water.

We saw the ovens for processing the steel, the gasworks to produce other gases as a byproduct of the processing of iron ore to make steel , with oxygen generated for use in the process, the coking plants to produce enough coke for the process and a system of trucks and railway trucks to transport steel from one part of the process to the next. The steel is made into ingots, billets, moulded railway tracks, and different shapes for the construction industry.

We then headed to Iron Knob, just a great big hill of iron ore,  and a weird little museum of mineral specimens.

After this we headed to Port Augusta! We tried to get a flight from Marree over Lake Eyre but all booked out so we headed for Quorn! Strange day really ! Salmon patties for dinner! 

Whyalla dawn

Whyalla steelworks

Rollers for moulding the steel

Barge for taking steel out to large container ships

Conveyor belt system for transporting iron ore

System of pipes for recycled water

BOC gas storage- gases generated at the plant

Note molten steel from furnace

Old coke making plant 

Note steel billets on loader

Iron Knob