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The South Australian city of Whyalla is on the verge of being transformed into an industrial hub for green technologies, according to local authorities.

Iron ore mines nearby are also earning hundreds of millions of dollars in profits, thanks to a global building boom brought on by COVID.

In 2017, the mines and steelworks were purchased out of administration by Indian-born billionaire, Sanjeev Gupta, and his company, GFG.

Sky News has been told the ore mines nearby the towns are now succeeding, having brought in hundreds of millions of dollars in cash this year alone thanks to recent booms in iron ore and steel prices.

The government is willing to gift owners GFG $50 million if the company fulfills a pledge to transform a plant into a mill capable of producing eco-friendly green steel.

These ambitions were recently under threat because of the collapse of Green Steel Capital, GFG's financiers, and the company says it is weeks away from finalising an alternative finance deal.

Whyalla contractors are now being paid by GFG on time, after previously being asked for interest to avoid delayed payments but GFG will not give a timeframe for when green steel will be made in Whyalla.

Meanwhile, several local authority figures have told Sky News they expect Whyalla to get a slice of the $275 million promised from the federal government for four hydrogen hubs in Australia.