The troubled Whyalla steelworks and Australia's only manganese smelter, both once owned by controversial businessman Sanjeev Gupta, are closer to locking in buyers.
Australian-owned enterprise M Resources and Indian company Jindal Steel were the final bidders on the shortlist for South Australia's Whyalla, it was announced on Wednesday.
The two bidders were short-listed from an initial 70 expressions of interest as part of the multibillion-dollar process, although an Australian-led BlueScope Steel consortium still retains the right of last offer.