AN international steel consortium last night claimed “unrealistic” proposals by Corus were responsible for the breakdown of talks over the future of the threatened Teesside Cast Products (TCP) plant.

Talks between Corus and the consortium – consisting of Marcegaglia, Dongkuk, Duferco and Ternium Procurement – collapsed on Thursday night, throwing 3,000 jobs into doubt.

In May, the consortium pulled out of an offtake agreement, signed in 2004, to take 78 per cent of the output from the Redcar plant for ten years.

Prime Minister Gordon Brown, Business, Innovation and Skills Minister Pat Mc- Fadden and local politicians, including Redcar MP Vera Baird, spent months applying political pressure to get both sides back around the negotiating table.

Although the consortium last night claimed it was still willing to listen to “reasonable proposals”, Corus was not adding to a statement released on Thursday which suggested there was little chance of further discussions.

In the statement, it said: “Unfortunately, it was clear from the meeting that the consortium is unable to guarantee long-term offtake in sufficient volume, and that Corus needs to pursue other solutions.”

In a statement yesterday the consortium said it had “met with Corus in a good faith effort to try to resolve their differences”.

It added: “Unfortunately, the proposals made by Corus were unrealistic and not reasonably calculated to create an environment for productive discussions.

“As Corus has been made aware, the consortium remains willing to consider reasonable proposals to resolve the current dispute.”

Corus claimed to have “presented a number of options”

to the consortium through which a sustainable future for TCP could be achieved.

Now, 2,000 workers and 1,000 contractors are pinning their hopes on a buyer for the plant being found before order books run dry.

A 90-day consultation finishes early next month, but the company has managed to load TCP with enough internal work to keep it going to the end of next month.

An upturn in external orders has meant its order book for September is also likely to be filled in the next few days.

Corus bosses hoped this would give the company extra time to find a long-term solution that keeps the plant open.

Mrs Baird said: “Neither Corus nor the Government saw the consortium as the only solution. Corus are clear that there are alternative solutions, on which they are working at all speed and with some confidence.”

Jimmy Skivington, regional organiser for the GMB union, was in London yesterday for a meeting between unions and Corus following a bonus dispute and felt workers were not pessimistic over TCP’s future.

He said: “The lads who were down from TCP are pretty buoyant. At least they know where they are going. They are looking for external orders and there is supposed to be some interest being shown.”

Yesterday’s union meeting followed a national dispute, involving Corus plants, over bonus payments.

Last night, the Community union said positive progress had been made.