Glencore Reassesses Future of Australian Copper Smelter and Refinery Amid Market Pressures
Anglo-Swiss commodities giant Glencore has engaged both Queensland’s and the Australian Federal Government in discussions concerning the future of its Mount Isa copper smelter and Townsville copper refinery.
This follows Glencore’s October 2023 announcement that it would close its Mount Isa copper mines in the second half of 2025, citing studies showing that extending the life of the underground operations was no longer viable.
“Following extensive assessments, we now estimate the workforce impact to be around 500 people—significantly lower than the initial projection of 1,200,” said Sam Strohmayr, Glencore’s Chief Operating Officer for its Australian zinc and copper operations, during a community address in Mount Isa. “We are actively working to redeploy as many employees as possible in the coming months,” he added.
Strohmayr noted that Glencore is currently reviewing the viability of its copper processing facilities amid the sharpest decline in treatment and refining charges in 25 years.
He also pointed to government-subsidised smelters in countries such as China and Indonesia as contributing to the challenging global market conditions.
Glencore is now the second major international commodities firm to re-evaluate its Australian assets. Earlier, Swiss trading house Trafigura placed its Nyrstar zinc smelter in Tasmania under strategic review.
During a panel discussion at the Financial Times Commodities Global Summit in late March, Trafigura’s CEO, Richard Holtum, described mineral processing infrastructure like smelters as “a national security issue.”
He warned that without stronger government support, Western nations would struggle to reduce their dependence on China for critical mineral supplies.
