General News
7 October, 2025
EXCLUSIVE: Deal done to keep Mount Isa copper smelter operating
Senator Tim Ayres will fly to Mount Isa on Wednesday to make the announcement.
The Mount Isa Copper Smelter will stay in operation after a deal was struck between Glencore and the state and federal governments.
North West Weekly can confirm that Senator Tim Ayres, the federal Minister for Industry and Science, will fly into Mount Isa tomorrow morning (Wednesday) to make the announcement.
It is unsure if the Crisafulli government will send a representative.
While details have yet to be confirmed, sources said the copper smelter would continue to operate for at least another four years as a result of the deal.
Glencore was initially chasing a $2 billion support package over a longer period, but it is understood the figure is significantly less for a shorter timeframe.
In April this year, Glencore told Mount Isa residents that it was seeking state and federal government funding to keep the copper smelter operating next year.
The smelter provides more than 1000 direct and indirect jobs, from the copper mines in the North West, to Incitec Pivot’s sulphuric acid plant at Phosphate Hill, to the Mount Isa rail line, and all the way to the coast in the refinery and the Port of Townsville.
Former Glencore zinc assets chief operating officer Sam Strohmayr said at the time that increased international competition and declining access to local concentrate meant the company was now weighing up whether to proceed with a planned re-bricking in 2026.
The mining giant had previously indicated that a decision on the future of the smelter would not be made until 2030.
Mr Strohmayr singled out energy cost relief and hastening regulatory approvals, such as for the planned Black Star Open Cut project, as areas of concern for the company.
“The economic conditions are pretty tough,” he said in April.
“We have big investment decisions we need to make at the end of this year, and you can imagine that any private business, if you’ve got a big capital investment and an outlook that sees the asset as being uneconomic, then that’s a pretty difficult decision to get anyone to agree with.
“We believe the resources sector in Mount Isa and the North West is just as important as steel making in South Australia or the aluminium industry in New South Wales, so there are lots of mechanisms government has at their disposal to provide support for the region.”
Speaking to North West Weekly in April, Minister for Natural Resources and Mines Dale Last indicated that Glencore could expect to see help from the state and federal governments.
“There are a number of parts to this that are all inextricably linked,” Mr Last said.
“You look at the copper mine in Mount Isa, you look at the operation of Incitec Pivot (Phosphate Hill), you then look at the copper refinery in Townsville ... they are all linked.
“They are all dependent on that smelter and that is a critical element in this equation going forward. If we’re to find a solution for Mount Isa and the broader North West Minerals Province, then that smelter is a key part of that.
“As a consequence, we’re doing a lot of work at the moment with Glencore to ensure the smelter remains operational.
“That will give them confidence in the broader industry to open up and develop other copper mines in that area.”
Senator Ayres visited Mount Isa in June and toured Mount Isa Mines with Mr Last.
He said that a decision to support the smelter would not be made lightly.
“This is taxpayers' money and an important industrial capability that has been canvassed here,” Senator Ayres said of the decision to provide Glencore with a funding package.
“The two governments will deal with this as quickly as we can, but we’re going to do it in a deliberate and considered fashion.
“We won’t be rushed.
“We will deal with it carefully in the public interest, which is what Queenslanders and Australians would expect.”