Instead, it ended up costing the company’s investors $163 million as Hawson’s share price tanked, falling 60 per cent to 14 cents a share on strong volume.

Hawsons chair Dave Woodall said the inflationary impact of the pandemic on the global economy, combined with the steepening interest rates and the fallout from the Russian invasion of Ukraine had created “strong headwinds”.

He said Hawsons was being challenged by the conditions and the falling Australian dollar.

“A project slowdown is the most sensible and prudent response to preserve capital given global pressures and will allow a focus on optimising pathways in the best interests of shareholders which are reflective of deteriorating conditions.”

The Broken Hill project is aimed at the green steel market because it was high grade and could be used by electric arc furnaces that would allow for the replacement of coal with hydrogen.

Hawsons has a grade of about 70 per cent iron and a potential 481 million tonnes resource estimate which would have allowed for a 20 million tonne a year production rate.

The company would now look at its capital position and operating costs and review all options for the project and Woodall said that would take time and would not be completed this year.

He said there was no other choice given the state of the global economy.

Woodall said the resolutions to be put to shareholders at the annual general meeting were crucial to the company’s ability to raise capital next year and provide options for funding the bankable feasibility study.

Those resolutions included the company having the ability to be able to issue shares worth up to 10 per cent of its capital.