'Economic death spiral' fear over ailing copper smelter

Perth Now

31-07-2025

The north Queensland economy is facing an "economic death spiral" and the loss of 17,000 jobs without an immediate government bailout for mining giant Glencore's copper operations, regional leaders have warned.
A delegation, including members of Katter's Australian Party, is in Canberra lobbying the federal government for funding to allow Glencore's copper smelter at Mt Isa to remain open.
Last week, Glencore told staff it was preparing to put the smelter and Townsville copper refinery into care and maintenance until market conditions improve.
The Swiss company closed its underground copper mine at Mt Isa this week, costing almost 500 direct jobs.
Mt Isa Mayor Peta MacRae said the end of the mine's 100-year history was "devastating in itself".
"But to hear that our smelter could potentially be going into care and maintenance, along with the refinery in Townsville, would put our economic ecosystem into a death spiral," she said on Thursday.
"Without our smelter, there's no sulfuric acid for the phosphate, and without that phosphate and fertiliser, you will not have the agricultural industry in Queensland."
Five hundred jobs are also under threat at Dyno Nobel's Phosphate Hill operations near Mt Isa, with a strategic review under way because high gas prices have made fertiliser production increasingly uneconomical.
Glencore predicts its smelter and the Townsville copper refinery will lose $2.2 billion over the next seven years, and a decision to close them could come as soon as September.
It was "no overestimation" to say that this would cost 17,000 direct and indirect jobs, Ms MacRae said, putting Townsville at an unemployment rate of 18 per cent, "which is simply unacceptable".
Townsville Enterprise chief executive Claudia Brumme-Smith said the Queensland delegation had a "big day" of meetings with industry and government on Thursday to try to secure immediate support.
"We don't have a lot of time. It's five minutes to midnight, and we need a deal right now," she said.
Federal MP Bob Katter said there would be retribution at the ballot box, if the government allowed Mt Isa to vanish without a trace.
"North Queenslanders have an enviable record in completely destroying politicians who treat us like this. So if you think that's a threat, I absolutely promise you it's a threat."
Glencore head of corporate affairs Cassandra McCarthy told the ABC "we're running out of time".
"We really need to know in the next couple of weeks whether there is going to be enough support on the table to allow us to continue to operate," she said.
"It's not just about Glencore, it's about supporting the other miners in the region as well. And that's why we think it's worthy that the government looks at a solution that supports a region, not just the smelter."
The Queensland and federal governments have indicated they want to strike a deal to keep the smelter open, but discussions are still under way.
Queensland Treasurer David Janetzki said the federal government had a significant role to play in the negotiations "and it will be a national disgrace if the federal government and Glencore are not at the table negotiating".
"The federal government must be part of a short-term solution while they develop a long-term strategy," he said.
Glencore smelter employee Cameron Gibson said the industry was "pretty close to my heart" because his father had worked at the Mt Isa operation for 33 years and he had been there for 32 years.
"This is not about a company, it's not about politics, this is about saving a community, it's about saving rural and remote Australia," he said.
"The royalties that the governments get out of places like Mt Isa … that will stop, and that will create a cash flow problem for the governments and all levels."