Whyalla job losses a matter of 'timing', premier says

Workers have been told the Whyalla steelworks' blast furnace won't be restarted. (Isabella Ward/AAP PHOTOS)

The ageing Whyalla blast furnace was doomed to close, but timing is to blame for the hundreds of job losses it implies, the South Australian premier claims.

Peter Malinauskas also told ABC Radio National on Tuesday he was unable to state how much taxpayers have spent trying to keep the ageing blast furnace operating.