BBC reported that a consortium has withdrawn from discussions to save the partially mothballed TATA Corus Teesside Cast Products steel plant in Redcar, where about 1,600 jobs are being cut following the collapse of a major contract of slab sales earlier.

The consortium, including local businessmen, claimed management at Corus appeared "unwilling" to engage in discussions.

The consortium was brought together by Teesside entrepreneurs Chris Musgrave and Paul Weavers and also included a syndicate of investors who were being advised by metallurgy experts Hatch Corporate Finance.

Corus, which is reportedly still in talks with Thai steelmaker SSI about a possible deal for the facility, has come under fire from unions and local politicians for not doing more to help rescue the site.

A spokesperson for Corus said the firm was making every effort to find a long term solution for TCP and it had a genuine commitment to the process. He said “As we have previously stated, we remain open to any credible offers from third parties interested in providing such a solution. To date, Corus has followed up every single enquiry and engaged constructively with any bidder that presented an offer which provided a viable future for TCP, including demand for the site's output. We remain in discussions with a number of parties.”

The Redcar plant has been at risk since April 2009 when international buyers pulled out of a 10 year contract to buy steel slabs. The blast furnace was shut down on 19 February.

(Sourced from BBC)