An executive with North-West Queensland’s emerging Eva copper mine has reinforced the importance of preserving local processing infrastructure in a campaign to keep Glencore’s copper smelter and refinery open.

Harmony chief development officer Johannes Van Heerden has added his voice to a Keep Our Copper docu-series developed by Townsville Enterprise.

“We estimate our project will produce around 55,000 to 60,000 tonnes of copper annually — potentially contributing 25 to 35 percent of the (Mount Isa copper) smelter’s total feed,” Mr Van Heerden said.

The challenge of electrification and decarbonisation, meant the world must mine more copper, he said.

“We understand that that 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,” Mr Van Heerden said.

Related: Eva advances with award of workforce village contract

Harmony acquired the Eva copper-gold project, 75km north-east of Cloncurry, from Copper Mountain Mining in December 2022 and has been carrying out feasibility work since in the lead up to a final investment decision.

Townsville Enterprise chief executive officer Claudia Brumme-Smith said the region’s emerging copper mines had the potential to underpin long-term processing capability — if the right decisions were made now.

“We are five minutes to midnight. 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,” Ms Brumme-Smith 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.”

Related: Evolution has eyes on growth options at Ernest Henry

Ernest Henry Operations general manager Jason Floyd said Evolution was focused on extending the life of that copper-gold asset.

“We’ve recently expanded our tenement packages around Cloncurry because we see the potential for continued growth. The story here is a positive one,” Mr Floyd said.

“We’ve got the essentials, we’ve got a lot of the infrastructure in place to support further operations.”

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