Business
1 October, 2025
Phosphate Hill set to shut down next year: Dyno Nobel
The fertiliser plant is on the market but will shut down by September 30, 2026, if not sold.
Dyno Nobel says it will shut its Phosphate Hill complex in September next year if it can't find a buyer for the asset by March 31, 2026.
"Securing the economic supply of natural gas and metallurgical gas from the Glencore smelter remains critical to the future of Phosphate Hill and a solution to these critical variables continues to be pursued in collaboration with the Commonwealth and Queensland governments," the company said in an ASX statement this morning.
"The sale process for Phosphate Hill is continuing. If an agreed sale cannot be reached by 31 March 2026, Dyno Nobel will progress an orderly closure of Phosphate Hill by 30 September 2026.
"Dyno Nobel remains focused on maintaining safe and reliable operations of the asset during this period and continues to work with stakeholders to achieve a responsible transition of ownership of Phosphate Hill as a going concern to a qualified new owner.
"Some ongoing capital investment will be made to ensure the safety of operations, which is expected to be funded from Phosphate Hill's cash flows. Cashflows for the Group are not expected to be negatively impacted by the continued operation of Phosphate Hill in FY26.
"In the event of a Phosphate Hill closure, the costs of remediation and closure are expected to be offset by tax loss benefits and the release of working capital."
Member for Traeger Robbie Katter said it would be a disaster if Phosphate Hill closed down and blamed Australia’s attitude towards gas supply as a major roadblock to the feasibility of major industry.
“We've got idiots in Brisbane and Canberra that can't marry up their economic ideologies and their policies with reality on the ground,” he said.
“They keep talking about saving manufacturing and how to help, but they fail to acknowledge that the price of gas to consumers out here has risen by a factor of five to six times.
“That’s just crazily unacceptable in the market. The market can't tolerate it.
“All they've done is tinker at the edges on gas policy, both Liberal and Labor, because they're ideologically driven. They believe in the free market and they believe in selling our gas overseas for nothing at the expense of industrial gas consumers in this country on domestic supply.
“That is the summary of what's going on there. The governments seem either unwilling or ill-equipped to address that.
“We are such a ridiculous anomaly in global gas markets where we don't have a gas reserve that it just makes a laughing stock of our decision makers that they would continue to oversee this and that they would stare down the barrel of a situation, stare down the barrel of a gun aimed at a fertiliser plant that represents 20 per cent of fertiliser consumed in Australia.
“We're importing 80 per cent of our fertiliser now as it is. And we're standing at the barrel of cutting a big hole in that again, of what we can produce and fertilise in Australia, and they still refuse to act on gas reserve policy.”
The CEO of Dyno Nobel, Mauro Neves, said the company was working hard to find a buyer.
"Dyno Nobel is continuing to prioritise a sale of Phosphate Hill to a new owner and we have left no stone unturned in trying to secure economic natural gas as well as metallurgical gas from the Glencore smelter, both of which are necessary to attract and secure a buyer," he said.
"We appreciate the continued efforts of the Federal and Queensland Governments in working on a solution for the copper smelter, which is critical for the Mount Isa region’s future."
"We are also continuing to work with the federal and Queensland governments to find solutions on these critical inputs to support Phosphate Hill’s manufacturing operations.
"We are committed to doing everything we can to deliver a positive outcome for our talented and hard-working team, the communities that Phosphate Hill supports and for our shareholders."
Mr Katter said a special economic zone could help the North West fight back and stand on its own two feet.
“That’s why we keep trying to come back to a special economic zone, because the North West, the viability and the future of the North West, is not pinned just to the copper smelter or CopperString or any one thing, it's a number of things and there's about five critical components to the future of the region and the Phosphate Hill is one of those,” the MP said.
“It would be the biggest rail user by a long way, so if it shuts down, it’s very difficult to see how the rail line would still be viable.”
Meanwhile, Dyno Nobel announced this morning that animal feed producer Ridley Corporation had completed its acquisition of Incitec Pivot Fertilisers from Dyno Nobel, not including Phosphate Hill.
In May, Ridley announced a binding agreement to acquire Incitec Pivot for $300 million, as well as put/call options to later acquire its Geelong North Shore property for $75 million.
Dyno Nobel had been looking to spin off its fertiliser arm from its core explosives business since July 2024. Ridley completed its acquisition of Incitec Pivot on September 30.
"The acquisition of Incitec Pivot Fertilisers establishes a new growth pillar for Ridley, reinforcing its position as a leading diversified Australian services company,” Ridley said in a statement to the ASX.