Wiping off Whyalla has become something of a macabre sport.
All manner of things have been said to be about to destroy the steelworks town, including (briefly) the 2012-2014 carbon price.
BHP abandoned the steelworks, the harbour and the nearly Middleback Range iron ore mine in 2000, floating it off as a separate company it called OneSteel.
Renamed Arrium, the company collapsed in 2016, in circumstances that are still being fought out in court.
Bought in July 2017 by Dubai-based British industrialist Sanjeev Gupta, the steelworks enjoyed a revival until this month, with an exclusive contract to supply steel for the planned eastern inland rail line and plans to make 100% “green steel” from renewable energy sources.