Business
9 July, 2025
Time against us, say industry leaders as governments weigh up call
The future of the Mount Isa copper smelter is far from guaranteed.
A decision regarding Mount Isa’s copper smelter must be made quickly before the regional supply chain collapses, leaders say.
The potential closure in Mount Isa has finally resonated with the Townsville community, which is also now pushing to convince the state and federal governments to shore up the future of the smelter.
Last week, Townsville Enterprise launched a five-part series that highlights the critical role North Queensland plays in the global copper supply chain – and the real risk that vital infrastructure could be lost without intervention.
“Governments must recognise we are five minutes to midnight on keeping this supply chain intact,” said Claudia Brumme-Smith, CEO of Townsville Enterprise.
“This isn’t just one facility at risk – it’s a house of cards. Pull out a single asset, and the entire regional economy could collapse around it.”
The series takes viewers across the North West Minerals Province, capturing voices from the mine sites to manufacturers, and warning of the consequences if key national assets were closed, including Glencore’s copper smelter in Mount Isa and refinery in Townsville.
Ms Brumme-Smith, said that travelling across the supply chain revealed the interconnectivity between regional communities, critical infrastructure, and global markets.
“This is not just about a single facility or one community,” she told North West Weekly.
“This is about protecting a copper supply chain that underpins 17,000 jobs across the North, stretching from Mount Isa to Townsville and beyond, and safeguarding Australia’s sovereign capabilities.
“Through this series we had the rare opportunity to access the copper smelter and refinery and speak to workers, councils, and industry leaders. The mood is anxious – people are worried that their next shift could be their last. They know what’s at stake.”
Glencore, which is pushing for $2 billion worth of government support, says that overseas markets have made it difficult to remain competitive in Australia.
Glencore’s operations have suffered from China upgrading its copper processing capacity.
“This is bigger than Glencore and goes to the heart of state and federal government critical minerals policies when you have a number of smelters and refineries across Australia clearly at breaking point,” said Glencore’s head of corporate affairs in Australia, Cass McCarthy.
“We continue to proactively engage with government in the hopes a regional solution for the Mount Isa smelter and Townsville refinery can be found over the next month or so,” she said.
The Australian last week said it was estimated Glencore was losing up to $30 million a month on the smelter and refinery.
Townsville Enterprise estimates that 17,000 jobs are connected to the downstream copper assets from Mount Isa to Townsville.
“We are at a critical moment in time. Demand for copper is skyrocketing, global supply is constrained, and smelting capacity is being concentrated offshore,” Ms Brumme-Smith said.
“If Australia doesn’t act now to protect its domestic processing infrastructure, we risk becoming completely dependent on foreign powers for a resource we have in abundance.
“At the end of the day, the world wants our copper. There is plenty to be mined in the North West, but if we lose infrastructure in Mount Isa and Townsville, we will lose the entire regional eco-system, the jobs, and the national security advantage.
“We are calling on all levels of government and industry to come together now, before it’s too late.”
Harmony is on the verge of its final investment decision on the new Eva Copper Mine north of Cloncurry and chief development officer Johannes van Heerden said preserving North Queensland’s processing infrastructure was vital.
“We estimate our project will produce around 55,000 to 60,000 tonnes of copper annually – potentially contributing 25 to 35 per cent of the smelter’s total feed,” he said.
“The one challenge that the world has is electrification and decarbonisation. Therefore, we do need to mine more copper to achieve those outcomes.
“We understand that the smelter is pivotal to not only Mount Isa but the broader North West Minerals Province with some of these copper mines coming online down the track like the Eva Copper Project.”
Jason Floyd, general manager of Evolution Mining’s Ernest Henry operations – which purchased the Cloncurry mine from Glencore in 2021 – said the company was focused on extending the life of its existing operations at Ernest Henry, seeing the region’s potential as evidenced by undertaking extensive exploration in close proximity to its current operations.
“We’ve recently expanded our tenement packages around Cloncurry because we see the potential for continued growth,” he said.
“We’ve got the essentials; we’ve got a lot of the infrastructure in place to support further operations.”
Ms Brumme-Smith, said the region’s emerging copper mines had the potential to underpin long-term processing capability in North Queensland – if the right decisions were made now.
“The Mount Isa smelter and Townsville refinery are at real risk of closure, despite being Australia’s only copper processing facilities open to third-party miners – making them nationally significant,” she said.
“Emerging copper projects across the North West can supply and sustain these assets, but they need time to reach full production.
“Australia has the second-largest copper reserves in the world, and with copper critical to clean energy and electrification, we cannot afford to lose control of this strategic resource.
“Ernest Henry was once considered for closure.
“Under Evolution’s ownership, it has become a thriving centre of employment and an important contributor to regional prosperity.
“That same opportunity exists across the North West, but it hinges on maintaining our domestic processing capability.
“If these processing facilities close, Australian copper producers would lose their only local processing options.
“And Australia would lose far more than jobs – we’d lose a pillar of our economic resilience, sovereign capability, and national security.”
The state and federal governments are still weighing up what measures it can take to shore up the smelter’s future and safe guard the region’s supply chain.
Royalty relief, rail subsidies, fixed gas prices and stumping up the cost of re-bricking the smelter are some of the options under consideration.
If no support is forthcoming, Glencore says it will close the smelter in a matter of months.
It would be a massive blow to Mount Isa and the entire North Queensland economy.