General News
30 July, 2025
State left a good option on the table, says Katter
The Member for Traeger says the Crisafulli government's rejection of smelter support was 'disappointing'.
Robbie Katter says he’s disappointed the state government has backed away from a major commitment to the Mount Isa copper smelter, claiming that a serious option had been presented to Premier David Crisafulli and Mines Minister Dale Last.
On Sunday, Mr Crisafulli said Glencore should wear losses on the smelter because other parts of its Australian business were making money.
“They’ve got a responsibility to give a little back because that company, they’re not on the bones of their backside,” the Premier said.
“They’re going OK.
“I think the profits from Glencore, most companies would be pretty pleased with them. Ultimately, they do very, very well out of mining in this state.”
The Member for Traeger said it was an “uninformed comment” by Mr Crisafulli.
“I think that statement seems to disregard the current global smelting conditions ... as critical as I am of Glencore, it wouldn’t matter who’s running that smelter at the moment or how altruistic they were,” Mr Katter told North West Weekly.
“In these market conditions I think any other company would be finding it hard to operate the smelter at a profit.”
The Mount Isa-based MP said he was concerned the Crisafulli government was ignoring a viable solution that had been tabled in recent weeks.
“It’s not for me to give details, and particularly at this point, given there’s still a good chance there’s something that could be built around that solution,” Mr Katter said.
“But I would say I’m aware that there is a solution out there that is being bandied around by industry leaders and I’m just hopeful that enough people notice that.
“But when Glencore has said now publicly that they’d be open to shared equity solutions, and when there’s been solutions bandied around that have shared equity in it, to me that’s code for ‘there is a pathway forward’.
“I’m just hopeful at this point that the federal and state governments can see that and consider it.”
The Premier said he was concerned about the workers who remained unsure about their future in the copper industry.
“I think long term, the future of copper and the future of refining in this country is strong,” Mr Crisafulli said.
“The copper price at the moment is at historic lows, but all the indicators are that it’s going to head in the right direction.
“I think there is a desire from most Australians for us to maintain refining and smelting operations in the state and in the country.”
In an email to staff last week, Glencore interim chief operating officer Tony Wilson wrote that the company had been absorbing losses to date.
“However, we are fast reaching the point at which Glencore cannot continue to absorb these losses,” he said.
In Canberra last week, federal Industry Minister Tim Ayres said he was working in close co-operation with the state government to engage with Glencore.
“I did meet with representatives of Glencore again today, and have been closely co-ordinating … about the approach that the Queensland Government has taken to that set of issues,” Senator Ayres said.
“(We’re) very conscious of the importance of that facility – for Mount Isa, for the region, for the copper industry, for the facilities that rely upon it, for the Queensland economy, and for Australia’s broader strategic and economic resilience – national interest.”