The success of the operation would be limited by cheap competition from overseas iron which was transported to the colony as ship's ballast. The mill carried on for some time under a co-operative system but appeared to have failed. In a mark of frustration at the lack of protectionism measures for local industries, Rutherford blew up the blast furnace with two dray loads of blasting powder (Brown 1989, p66)
William Sandford who was associated with the early steel making operations in Mittagong, took over the operations from Rutherford in 1886 and made some initial successes in reviving the business by successfully puddling Australia's first steel in 1900.