KAP on the warpath over Glencore’s Isa copper exit

Katter’s Australian Party is calling on the State Government to revoke special status afforded Glencore and to give another operator a chance to mine the remaining copper deposits at the Mount Isa Mines site. It wants to abolish the Mount Isa Mining Act along with the favourable operating conditions it says are being abused to the detriment of the region and to the benefit of the global commodity trader. “The covenant with the Queensland people has been broken with Glencore’s announcement in October to cease their copper operations in Mount Isa,” KAP leader and Traeger MP Robbie Katter said. Glencore in October announced plans to close its Mount Isa Mines underground copper operations and copper concentrator in the second half of 2025. Those operations and supporting services employ about 1200 people. Glencore said the remaining mineral resources were not economically viable due to low ore grades and areas where, due to geological conditions, safe extraction could not be achieved using current technology. This, coupled with ageing infrastructure, meant the copper assets had reached the end of mine life, Glencore said. Related: Glencore stands by its Mount Isa Mines plans State Resources and Critical Minerals Minister Scott Stewart said that if Glencore’s mining lease was cancelled more than 1000 workers would lose their jobs today. "Glencore made it clear there was no assistance the government could provide to extend the life of its operations," he said. "I expect Glencore to continue to meet its obligations to its workers and the community and if there’s any interested operator in the assets, then we will work with both them and Glencore. "It’s also important the Glencore smelter continues to operate because it processes product from other mines in the region which support hundreds of jobs." Mr Katter (pictured at right) said it would be a surprise to most Queenslanders that Glencore benefited from having its own act of Parliament. The Act was created during the Bjelke-Petersen era to maximise the value of mining activity in Mount Isa, he said. “The Queensland Government, rather than pressuring the Swiss-based Global Mining Company to keep the mines open, to keep North Queensland jobs on that mine site, they pat them on the back and say ‘Go your merry way and you can still operate without even doing an environmental cleanup’, " he said. “If Glencore won’t commit to restarting operations or selling their copper lease, then they need to have their special deal ripped up.” Related: Glencore inks deal for True North copper output He argued that plenty of mining companies would love to jump right in and buy that copper mine. "But Glencore can sit on the lease for the next 20 or 30 years and do nothing, and those 1,200 jobs will be lost to everyone forever,” Mr Katter said. Kennedy MP Bob Katter said the Queensland Government had two mechanisms available to hold Glencore accountable for its decision to cease copper mining at Mount Isa. “Every State government in Queensland’s history has had available to them the principle of ‘use it or lose it.’ That is, if the mining company does not actively mine a site where there are proven resources, they lose the right to have the lease," he said. “The second weapon available to government is rehabilitation. Once a resource has been exhausted, the Queensland State government can force the company to clean up the site. “Two powerful weapons, but the Queensland State government is using neither of them because they couldn’t care less that 1200 people are about to lose their jobs,” Mr Katter said. The State Government has announced a support package of up to $50 million for workers and the Mount Isa community impacted by the closure of Glencore’s Mount Isa Copper Operations and Lady Loretta Zinc Mine. This includes up to $30 million to accelerate development of resources projects in the North West Minerals Province in the next five years. Mr Stewart said Queensland Treasury and the Department of Resources were working closely with proponents on potential opportunities to support projects moving forward which would help create good jobs and support the region.

KAP on the warpath over Glencore’s Isa copper exit

Industry Queensland

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