General News
2 July, 2025
National policy needed on processing: Glencore
The mining giant says it's no coincidence that Australia's critical minerals processing facilities are flailing.
Glencore says the time is right for Australia to develop a national policy on critical minerals processing as Mount Isa and other major industrial centres struggle to survive in a tough global market.
“I think you’ve seen across Australia there are a number of smelters and refineries that are at breaking point,” said Cass McCarthy, head of corporate affairs for Glencore in Australia.
“So you’ve got Rio Tinto at Tomago, you’ve got Nyrstar at Port Pirie, you’ve got OneSteel at Whyalla ... I think this is pointing to a broader kind of public policy issue.
“There needs to be a serious conversation between government and industry about whether Australia wants to maintain its critical minerals processing capability.
“Now with the (Mount Isa) smelter in particular, as you know, we had the ministers out at Mount Isa and we’re very grateful for the continuing dialogue with state and federal government ministers, but we really need to come to a resolution on whether there will be support from government.
“We think that’s important because it is absolutely not a level playing field at the moment.
“We’re finding it very hard to compete with smelters in countries like China, who have much lower costs because they receive government support. And we’re just not able to sustain the losses that we’re currently taking.”
Meanwhile, Glencore’s latest economic contribution report shows it spent $9.4 billion across its business operations in Queensland last year.
“The Queensland coal mining sector continues to drive the state’s economic prosperity, but this can’t be taken for granted,” Ms McCarthy said.
“It’s vital that government and industry continue working together to provide certainty for future investment.
Glencore’s direct spend in Queensland last year included:
Providing jobs for 8380 employees and contractors;
Spending $6.5 billion on goods and services;
Supporting 3920 businesses, many in regional Queensland;
Paying $1.2 billion in wages and salaries;
Paying $1.7 billion in taxes and royalties to governments.
The full report is available on Glencore’s website.