Taxpayer bailout likely for major smelter, saving jobs

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The federal and Queensland governments appear to be about to reveal a bailout for a major smelter.
The federal and Queensland governments appear to be about to reveal a bailout for a major smelter.

Swiss mining giant Glencore looks set to get a taxpayer funded bailout to save an ailing smelter, potentially saving hundreds of jobs.

Federal Industry Minister Tim Ayres will be in Mount Isa in north Queensland on Wednesday for an event at 1130am AEDT before heading to Townsville for another event at 3.30pm AEDT.

He is likely to be joined by Queensland Resources Minister Dale Last.

the Hard Times Mine in the outback city of Mount Isa
Hundreds of jobs were lost when Glencore closed its underground copper mine at Mt Isa in July. (Dan Peled/AAP PHOTOS)

In July, Glencore closed its underground copper mine at Mt Isa, with a loss of almost 500 direct jobs.

It also warned it was preparing to put the nearby copper smelter and its Townsville copper refinery into care and maintenance until market conditions improved.

Glencore had said the assets were losing money and forecast a $2.2 billion loss over the next seven years.

There had been appeals to the federal and Queensland governments to offer support to save the smelter.

The federal opposition said any effort to keep the copper operations open would be good news for the local community.

“This is welcome news but it should never have taken this long,” resources spokeswoman Susan McDonald said in a statement.

“For months, smelter and refinery workers in Mount Isa and Townsville – plus support industries – have lived under a cloud of uncertainty while the federal government dragged its feet.”

AAP