Glencore (LSE:GLEN,OTC Pink:GLCNF) is preparing to shut down its final two Australian copper mines next week, ending more than six decades of upstream operations in Queensland.
The closure of the underground Enterprise and X41 mines in Mount Isa comes as uncertainty grows over the future of the adjacent copper smelter, which the company says could also be shut down without urgent government support.
The Swiss commodities giant first announced its plan to end mining operations in October 2023, citing declining ore grades and mounting financial losses.
The decision also coincides with Glencore’s sale of its Lady Loretta zinc mine and nearby landholdings to Austral Resources (ASX:AR1), further reducing its footprint in the region.
At the center of the company’s remaining copper assets is the Mount Isa smelter, which processes over one million tons of copper concentrate annually from across Australia, including from BHP (ASX:BHP,NYSE:BHP,LSE:BHP,OTC:BHPLF)Olympic Dam in South Australia.
But that smelter’s future now hangs in the balance. According to an internal staff memo obtained by local media, Glencore warned that without federal and state support, the Mount Isa smelter and Townsville copper refinery will be placed into care and maintenance, putting thousands of direct and indirect jobs at risk.
“To date Glencore has been absorbing losses hopeful that a viable solution could be found,” wrote Troy Wilson, Glencore’s interim chief operating officer in North Queensland, in a message to employees.
He noted that the company is engaged with the Queensland and Australian governments but has yet to secure a funding commitment.
A final decision on the smelter is expected by the end of September.
Thousands of local jobs at risk
The potential shutdown could also have wide-reaching consequences for the regional economy.
While the smelter and refinery directly employ about 550 workers, industry group Townsville Enterprise estimates that as many as 17,000 jobs in the region are tied to the copper supply chain and related businesses.
That includes equipment suppliers, service contractors, and downstream manufacturers.
Roland Lobegeiger, a field services manager at Isadraulics in Mount Isa, said the loss of the smelter would be devastating for the town. “Without it, the town’s not going to be here,” he told news.com.au.
“There are other mines — there would be other work in the area, but would the town recover? It’s hard to say,” he added.
The company’s struggle to keep its Queensland operations afloat comes at a time when global smelting margins are being squeezed by Chinese overcapacity.
In May, Bloomberg reported that Chinese smelters matched their record for refined copper production, producing 1.254 million tonnes despite plummeting treatment and refining charges, which are the fees miners pay smelters to process raw ore.
Beijing has allowed massive expansion in smelting capacity to support its clean energy sector, which depends heavily on copper.
Chinese smelters, many of which are state-owned, now produce more than half the world’s refined copper and are often shielded from financial distress by subsidies and state backing. That advantage has fueled growing frustration among non-Chinese producers.
“Unfortunately, it’s no longer a level playing field with our competitors in China heavily subsidised by government, which means they produce copper metal at much lower cost,” Wilson said in June.
Securities Disclosure: I, Giann Liguid, hold no direct investment interest in any company mentioned in this article.