Latest news with #RioTinto-owned
Sky News AU
30-07-2025
- Business
- Sky News AU
More than 500 jobs in jeopardy as Bowen Coking Coal appoints McGrathNicol Restructuring as voluntary administrator
More than 500 jobs are in jeopardy after a coal company in Queensland appointed administrators amid challenging business conditions and financial strains. Bowen Coking Coal on Wednesday appointed Mark Holland and Shaun Fraser from McGrathNicol Restructuring as administrators. It followed failed discussions with lenders and after the company could not secure a cash injection to save the business. The company said 'the current challenging environment for the coal industry' due to higher costs and lower global coal prices had led to its collapse. It also said the Queensland government's progressive royalty structure - which was imposed in 2022 - had hurt the company's bottom line. Bowen appointing administrators follows the Queensland Revenue Office rejecting the company's submission for these royalty payments to be deferred. 'The decision to appoint administrators is very disappointing,' the company said in a statement to the ASX. Bowen had opened its Burton mine, located about 160kms east of Mackay, in 2022, but the administrators may now sell the asset. 'The Burton Mine Complex is a quality asset, and management has been successful in delivering operational improvements that have seen the company transform Burton into one of the most productive and low-cost metallurgical coal mines in Australia,' Bowen said. 'The administration process is expected to provide a window which will allow for a sale or recapitalisation to be completed.' The voluntary administrator confirmed it has taken control of the company and will ensure it continues to operate until next steps can be determined. 'The Administrators have assumed control of the BCB Group's operations and intend to continue trading on a 'business as usual' basis while a sale and/or recapitalisation process is undertaken,' McGrathNicol Restructuring said. 'This includes the operations at the Burton Mine Complex located in the Bowen Basin of Queensland, which will continue uninterrupted.' Bowen stopped trading on the ASX in June. Its share price had plummeted from almost $40 in early 2022 to seven cents when it halted trading. In June, Bowen warned it would be forced to halt operations if market conditions did not improve. The coal operation's collapse comes as Australia's heavy industry continues to struggle under high power prices, which has forced many plants to beg for government handouts. Nickel smelter Glencore recently revealed it is on the brink of collapse in a threat to 17,000 jobs. Rio Tinto-owned Tomago, which is Australia's largest aluminium producer, is seeking billions of dollars from the federal and NSW governments amid high power prices and as cost-effective and consistent renewables remain largely unavailable. Two Australian smelters owned by international minerals and metals producer Nyrstar are also under threat and the local CEO has begged various state and federal governments for a handout as losses mount to "tens of millions a month".
Sky News AU
23-07-2025
- Business
- Sky News AU
About 17,000 jobs in jeopardy as Glencore warns it may have to shut down its operations at Townsville and Mount Isa
About 17,000 jobs could be in jeopardy as massive resources company Glencore reveals its considering halting operations. Two local operations in North Queensland at the Swiss metals Glencore are in strife despite a verbal offer of financial incentives from the Queensland government, including payroll tax deferral, to prevent collapse. An internal memo to staff from Glencore's interim chief operating officer revealed the company could soon place the two smelters into care and maintenance until conditions improved. 'To date Glencore has been absorbing losses hopeful that a viable solution could be found,' Mr Wilson wrote, per The Townsville Bulletin. 'However, we are fast reaching the point at which Glencore cannot continue to absorb these losses. 'We need to know in the coming weeks whether there is a viable solution on the table from governments. "Glencore is genuinely disappointed at the prospect of placing the smelter and refinery into care and maintenance if we do not receive adequate government support.' It comes as the company is expected to report a multi-billion-dollar loss over the next seven years from just two of its operations at Townsville and Mount Isa. Glencore directly employs about 550 workers, while lobby group Townsville Enterprise estimates that 17,000 jobs are connected to the nearby copper assets. Mr Wilson said offers from the state government were not enough and Glencore was now turning to Canberra for further support. 'Glencore is now urgently seeking details from the federal government on their proposed national smelting/refining strategy,' Mr Wilson said. Senior Glencore executive Suresh Vadnagra said shutting down was a last resort and that the company was open to the public taking a large stake in the beleaguered company. 'Time is running out," Mr Vadnagra said, according to The Australian. "We have been engaging with government for the past five months. "We need to know in the coming weeks whether there is a viable solution on the table from governments or whether we start to planning to transition the copper smelter and refinery into care and maintenance." The smelter's strife comes as Industry Minister Tim Ayres said Labor could provide taxpayer funds and long-term loans to assist ailing smelters crippled by energy costs and China-instigated trade distortions. 'The truth is, if these facilities didn't exist, governments would be trying to build them,' Mr Ayres told The Australian Financial Review. Many smelters and refineries are struggling to stay afloat in Australia. Rio Tinto-owned Tomago, which is Australia's largest aluminium producer, is seeking billions of dollars from the federal and NSW governments amid high power prices and as cost-effective and consistent renewables remain largely unavailable. Two Australian smelters owned by international minerals and metals producer Nyrstar are also under threat and the local CEO has begged various state and federal governments for a handout as losses mount to "tens of millions a month".
Sky News AU
21-07-2025
- Business
- Sky News AU
Energy crisis forces Labor to mull 'band aid solutions' for failing metal smelters as energy crisis plagues manufacturers
The Albanese government has been accused of considering 'band aid solutions' for major manufacturers struggling to stay afloat amid soaring power prices under Labor's renewable energy transition. Industry Minister Tim Ayres said Labor could provide taxpayer funds and long-term loans to assist ailing smelters crippled by energy costs and China-instigated trade distortions. 'The truth is, if these facilities didn't exist, governments would be trying to build them,' Mr Ayres told The Australian Financial Review. It comes as many smelters and refineries struggle to stay afloat in Australia. Rio Tinto-owned Tomago, which is Australia's largest aluminium producer, is seeking billions of dollars from the federal and NSW governments amid high power prices and as cost-effective and consistent renewables remain largely unavailable. Two Australian smelters owned by international minerals and metals producer Nyrstar are also under threat and the local CEO has begged various state and federal governments for a handout as losses mount to "tens of millions a month". Meanwhile, Glencore's local smelters and refineries similarly struggle in a massive blow to the Albanese government's Future Made in Australia plans. Centre for Independent Studies policy analyst Zoe Hilton told this revelation from Mr Ayres showed how Labor's net zero plans were hurting local industries. 'The government has shot itself in the foot on energy policy,' Ms Hilton said. 'The consequences of its commitment to a wind- and solar-dominated grid are being acutely felt by smelters and the pain will continue until the root cause is addressed. 'Equity injections and long-term loans for smelters are merely band aid solutions that will force taxpayers to pay twice – first for underwriting renewable energy projects and second for propping up industries that can't afford electricity price hikes driven by renewables.' Labor has vowed to make the nation a 'renewable energy superpower' with an energy mix of 82 per cent renewables by 2030 and green energy driving local manufacturing. The Albanese government is looking to boost this through production tax credits for leading Australian aluminium smelters, including Tomago, and give $2 billion back to help with the energy transition. Concerns over Australia's long term manufacturing capabilities also arose from AI Group chief executive Innes Willox who warned that 'bailouts cannot be for business as usual'. 'Short-term relief measures must be complemented by a long-term perspective that addresses the energy, skills and technology challenges weighing on our metals sector,' Mr Willox told He said the upcoming productivity roundtable hosted by Treasurer Jim Chalmers, where the Albanese government's second term economic agenda will come under the microscope, is crucial for examining problems plaguing manufacturing in Australia. 'It is a seminal moment for industry and a legacy moment for the country as a whole,' the AI Group boss said. 'We just can't keep going as we have been because what's got us to this point isn't going to make us successful in the future.' Soaring energy prices have particularly hurt the metals industry in Australia since the pandemic. Mr Willox said manufacturer gas costs are up 48 per cent for the past five years and for trade exposed industries like metals, passing these customers onto consumers is not possible. Other concerns about metal smelting in Australia come from Nyrstar boss Matthew Howell, who recently asked the government for help upgrading the company's facilities to make it more competitive in the global market. Mr Howell said the Chinese government subsidises companies to purchase Australian materials at prices local smelters could not afford. China then subsidises the processing of these materials and enforces export controls on the finished metals, hurting Australian producers in the process. Meanwhile, Glencore's head of corporate affairs Cass McCarthy lamented the company's ability to compete while high energy and labour costs hurt its profitability. 'This is bigger than Glencore and goes to the heart of state and federal government critical minerals policies when you have a number of smelters and refineries across Australia clearly at breaking point,' Ms McCarthy said, per The Australian. The NSW government in June confirmed it was in talks to save Tomago, which uses about 10 per cent of the state's power supply and makes about 37 per cent of the nation's aluminium. Premier Chris Minns stressed Tomago was a 'big employer in NSW, it's a dynamic part of the state, the Hunter and manufacturing is a big part of its future'. 'It's difficult for me to speculate about what the next steps are,' Mr Minns told reporters. 'In order for us to have an effective intervention, we need to have commercial discussions with the owners and operators of (Tomago). That's what we're doing.' Rio Tinto's chief executive Jakob Stausholm earlier this year flagged concerns about the producer's electricity costs where he warned power price contracts beyond 2028 would render Tomago unviable.
Sky News AU
02-07-2025
- Business
- Sky News AU
Boyer Paper Mill owner David Marriner warns 340 positions under threat as limited renewable energy eats into budget
The owner of Australia's last paper mill has issued a desperate plea for his 340 employees as his business struggles with energy problems. David Marriner, the CEO of Boyer Paper Mill in Tasmania, lamented the setbacks he has faced as he tries to electrify his business. Boyer Paper Mill currently spends about $12m per year on coal which the company imports from Newcastle after it lost its Tasmanian source three years ago, according to Mr Marriner. It sought to install electric boilers to greatly reduce emissions but the state-owned power company Hydro Tasmania said it did not have enough power to supply the mill. 'To my amazement, I sit in the commercial strip on Collins St to be told there's simply not the power,' Mr Marriner said. Boyer was unable to secure the power despite the federal government investing $9m into the paper mill in part to facilitate its decarbonisation. Mr Marriner stressed the paper mill needed the same power arrangements as fellow industrial users that are offered competitive prices. 'What we're keen to have (is) nothing more or nothing less than the prices that are being provided to the other two or three equivalent major suppliers,' he said. 'We just want the same terms and conditions. We don't want to be paying more than what our competitors are. I'm absolutely shattered and disappointed.' He said if the mill was unable to secure hydro power from Tasmania the business would be 'unsustainable' as the company forks out $12m per year for coal from NSW. 'The political system forced the closure and access to coal in Tasmania to us,' Mr Marriner said. "Why should 340 employees take the burden of stupid decisions? Why should they lose jobs?" Prime Minister Anthony Albanese earlier this year pledged $24m to the mill as part of Labor's lavish pre-election cash splashes. Of that cash injection, about $9m was to "stabilise its operations and prepare major investments to decarbonise and diversify its production". 'Boyer Paper Mill is an iconic part of Tasmania's manufacturing story,' the Prime Minister said in April. 'It was Australia's first ever newsprint mill built in the 1940s, and thousands of Tasmanians have worked here over that time. 'We want to see the mill continue well into the future, and that is why we are committing up to $24m to help Boyer secure local jobs and supply chains and move forward with confidence towards a low-emissions future.' The power price struggles for Boyer Paper Mill comes as a litany of manufacturers around the country struggle to remain viable. Rio Tinto-owned aluminium smelter Tomago located north of Newcastle, is reportedly seeking billions of dollars in public funds to prevent collapse. Meanwhile, a zinc and lead producer Myrstar Australia is also seeking government handouts as it loses "tens of millions a month".
Sky News AU
13-06-2025
- Business
- Sky News AU
Nuclear Science expert Dr Adi Paterson criticises Labor's current energy policy and targets for zero carbon renewables amid soaring power bills
A top Australian energy scientist has questioned how Labor's current energy policy could deliver cost effective solutions to consumers on dilute renewables amid soaring power bills. The former head of the Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation (ANSTO), Dr Adi Paterson, told Sky News on Friday evening that the cheapest form of energy is nuclear plus renewables and as few batteries as possible. Despite his expertise in nuclear energy, Mr Paterson said he could not understand how the government thinks its current policy is the best way to provide low cost to consumers. "I cannot understand how our government thinks that the current energy policy, which is based on dilute renewables, can get us to a really reliable low cost to consumers, the cost at the meter," he told Sky News host Steve Price. "This government fundamentally mixes up the cost at the fence of the facility, which is really cheap if you do solar and wind, with the cost of the meter to the consumer, which goes up if you have too much solar and wind. "And we know that the cheapest form of energy working with renewables, not fighting with renewables, is nuclear plus renewables and as few batteries as possible. "We're pursuing this crazy dream which is on the input side of the energy is we want to be a world leader in zero carbon with renewables, which has never been done anywhere and which is a grave mistake." This comes as NSW Premier Chris Minns announced on Thursday the government would hold talks to to save the potential collapse of the nation's largest aluminium smelter as it struggles with crippling power bills and poor availability of renewable energy. Rio Tinto-owned Tomago, located north of Newcastle, is reportedly seeking billions of dollars in public funds to prevent collapse. The producer uses about 10 per cent of NSW's power supply and makes about 37 per cent of Australia's primary aluminium. Its collapse could lead to more than 1,000 people losing their jobs, while 5,000 indirect workers could suffer. NSW Premier Chris Minns stressed Tomago was a 'big employer in NSW, it's a dynamic part of the state, the Hunter and manufacturing is a big part of its future'. 'It's difficult for me to speculate about what the next steps are,' Mr Minns told reporters. 'In order for us to have an effective intervention, we need to have commercial discussions with the owners and operators of (Tomago). That's what we're doing.'
