A$600m bailout to save Mount Isa smelter and Townsville refinery

The federal and Queensland governments on Wednesday announced a A$600 million jointly funded package to keep Glencore’s Mount Isa copper smelter and the adjacent Townsville refinery operating for at least three years, securing about 600 jobs across the two sites, Industry Minister Tim Ayres said. The aid will be paid in instalments over the period and is contingent on the completion of a transformation study and other review benchmarks, officials said.

Ayres said the package aimed to protect an industrial capability the government views as strategically important to Australia’s copper supply chain and energy transition. Speaking on ABC Radio National, he said the partnership between the Commonwealth, Queensland, Glencore and local operators would determine the longterm future of the region and help “capture the value of that and the industrial capability in North Queensland.”

Glencore warned earlier this year it could be forced to place the smelter and the Townsville refinery into care and maintenance because the operations were losing money. In July the company closed its underground Mount Isa copper mine, a move that cut almost 500 direct jobs, and it previously told investors...