New Phosphate Hill owner Ryowa says it is committed to the North-West Queensland region and that the business will continue to supply Australian farmers with a secure, domestic source of fertiliser.

The Mayfair Australia Corporation subsidiary has completed its acquisition of the Phosphate Hill mine and ammonium phosphate fertiliser manufacturing operation from Dyno Nobel (ASX: DNL) – a deal sweetened by a $160 million taxpayer-funded loan facility.

“Completing this acquisition is a significant milestone for Ryowa and for the North-West Queensland community,” Ryowa chief executive officer John Canavan said.

“Phosphate Hill is a nationally important asset, and we are proud to secure its future along with the jobs of the more than 500 people who make it run.”

Ryowa parent company Mayfair is a Brisbane-based private company with a focus on advanced exploration and operating projects in bulk commodities, precious, base, strategic metals and other critical minerals.

Its agreement early this year to take on Phosphate Hill saved the operation from closure, with Dyno Nobel flagging plans to close it down by September 30 if it could not secure a buyer in the first quarter of 2026.

The sale secured ongoing employment for about 540 employees and contractors.

The fertiliser facility and the Mount Isa sulphuric acid plant which it draws on – and which is interdependent with the Mount Isa copper smelter – also indirectly support more than 2000 jobs across the Mount Isa to Townsville rail corridor and port facilities.

Ryowa acknowledged the financial support provided by the Queensland and Commonwealth governments in facilitating the Phosphate Hill transaction.

MITEZ chief executive officer Maria James said the government support suggested they understood the importance of maintaining Australian fertiliser manufacturing and the importance of Phosphate Hill to the North West Minerals Province and its logistics and value chain.

She said its continuing operations would keep more than a million tonnes of bulk freight on the Townsville to Mount Isa rail line, for example.

All users on that line would benefit, as the cost structure meant higher costs if there were fewer users, she said.

Federal Member for Kennedy Bob Katter said the sale of Phosphate Hill to Ryowa represented the culmination of years of relentless campaigning to keep one of Australia’s most strategically important industrial assets operating.

“This is wonderful news for North-West Queensland,” Mr Katter said. “For years we’ve been bashing the doors down, that if Australia wanted to keep industry alive, governments had to step in and secure a future for assets like Phosphate Hill.”

Only a year or so ago the region was staring down the barrel of losing one of Australia’s biggest industrial centres, with the closure of copper and phosphate production threatening thousands of livelihoods across the North West, the Katter’s Australian Party member said. “This is an enormous relief for the workers, contractors, families and communities who never gave up.”

Mr Katter said the focus must now be on ensuring Phosphate Hill had the affordable energy certainty needed to remain strong operation for decades to come.