‘Don’t leave us behind’ plea for processing future
By Industry Queensland
Townsville Enterprise has highlighted the government lifelines thrown to major metal processing plants interstate as it presses for a deal to save operations in Mount Isa and Townsville.
Chief executive officer Claudia Brumme-Smith said Glencore’s messaging to its copper smelter and refinery workers confirmed it was ‘five minutes to midnight’ for the fate of those plants.
“We have clear examples from Whyalla Steelworks in South Australia and Nyrstar Smelter in Tasmania as to what governments can do to keep smelters and refineries open in the national interest – Queensland cannot be left behind,” Ms Brumme-Smith said.
“This region and our communities are asking for no more or no less than what we have seen in other parts of the country, recognising that in those cases hundreds of jobs were at risk verses 17,000 jobs linked to the copper supply chain here in North Queensland.”
Just yesterday the Federal and South Australian governments announced a further $275 million assistance to continue operation of the Whyalla Steelworks as it transitions to new ownership.
iQ Industry Queensland contacted Federal Industry and Innovation Minister Tim Ayres for comment on a potential bailout for the Glencore assets in Queensland, but did not receive a reply prior to publication.
Related: Smelter ‘pivotal’ to emerging copper mines
Ms Brumme-Smith said stakeholders had been hearing about the State and Federal governments and Glencore having meetings for five months. Now it was time for a deal.
“The copper ecosystem in North Queensland is a delicate house of cards,” she said.
“Remove the smelter or refinery, and the whole structure collapses – from regional communities and emerging mines to critical operations like Phosphate Hill’s fertiliser production.”
Related: Decision date looms for Phosphate Hill operation
The copper smelter provides a sulphur byproduct to the Mount Isa acid plant for the production of sulphuric acid – a key input for Phosphate Hill manufacturing.
The North-West Queensland mining site produces monoammonium phosphate (MAP) and diammonium phosphate (DAP) fertilisers.
Owner Dyno Nobel is weighing up its future, with a strategic review underway that is targeted for completion by September.
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