General News
25 June, 2025
Miners tour Mount Isa smelter prior to Glencore decision
The federal and state ministers were in the mining city last week to meet with local leaders.
Federal Industry Minister Tim Ayres says the government won’t be rushed into making a decision on funding support for the Mount Isa copper smelter as the Queensland and Commonwealth governments weigh up all options to protect jobs in the North West.
Senator Ayres and state Minister for Natural Resources and Mines Dale Last were in Mount Isa last week to meet with Glencore and local leaders.
“This is taxpayer’s 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.”
As first reported by North West Weekly, Glencore hopes to attract a $2 billion funding package to support copper smelting operations in Mount Isa and the refinery in Townsville over the next decade.
Glencore says that a combination of unprecedented smelting market conditions, high costs like energy, gas and labour, and a shortage of copper concentrates is currently making the Mount Isa copper smelter unviable.
“Unfortunately, it’s no longer a level playing field with our competitors in China heavily subsidised by government, which means they produce copper metal at much lower cost,” said Troy Wilson, chief operating officer for Glencore’s Australian metals.
“Although the Mount Isa copper smelter and Townsville refinery are currently loss-making, we are continuing to look for a regional solution with both federal and Queensland governments to keep these strategic assets open.
“We want to continue operating the smelter and refinery and look forward to hearing feedback from both federal and Queensland governments on a possible way forward.”
Senator Ayres, who also met with Premier David Crisafulli in Brisbane, said the city’s copper smelter was a significant piece of Australian infrastructure.
“It should be obvious to all Australians how important the copper smelter and the mine is ... for Queensland’s economy and for Australia,” he said.
“I was impressed by the solidarity and fighting spirit that the Mount Isa community is showing and their determination to work together, both in the local economic interest but, more broadly, the regional industrial interest, to do what the community can to secure those jobs.”
Senator Ayres would not go into details about what the government was expecting from Glencore, or what the miner was expecting from the governments, but said the ball was firmly in the Swiss commodity trader’s court.
“What I want to see is Glencore, who are a massive global mining and industrial corporation, to act to secure copper smelting,” he said.
“It is a high quality asset that is efficiently producing copper for the world on Glencore’s behalf and has got a very sound future.
“I want to see them taking steps to secure that asset. That’s the first point here. This is an opportunity for Glencore to step up.
“I support what Premier Crisafulli has said. It’s their responsibility to act.
“Obviously we’ll engage with them, we’ll do it in lockstep with Queensland to see what it is that we can do to protect the national interest.
“But this is about Glencore stepping up for their responsibility to secure jobs locally.”
Senator Ayres said his government was committed to finding a solution in Mount Isa.
“Firstly, it underscores the need for the Albanese government’s Future Made in Australia approach to support local onshore processing capability,” he said.
“Secondly, the medium-term prospects for copper processing are very strong.
“The world needs this metal. Not every country on earth is playing by the rules and we have a very disrupted global trade situation at the moment.”
Federal Member for Kennedy Bob Katter says securing gas for Australian industry had to be a priority for the government.
He said without affordable gas, jobs in the North West would be at risk, highlighting the shaky future of Phosphate Hill as a result of volatility in the gas market.
Senator Ayres defended his government’s position on gas.
“The Albanese government acted over the course of the last term to put a cap on gas prices and to secure gas supply – we secured more than 618 petajoules for Australian industrial users,” he said.
“I am still very focused and deeply concerned to make sure that we leave no stone unturned to deliver supply at the right price for industrial users because our future capability depends upon it.”
