Overview
- Glencore ceased underground copper production at Mount Isa on July 31, ending seven decades of continuous operation and silencing the mine’s twice-daily blasts.
- The company laid off 500 mine workers after deeming deeper extraction financially unviable, with most employees declining internal redeployment offers.
- Glencore warned its adjacent Mount Isa smelter and Townsville refinery could enter care and maintenance, jeopardizing about 600 direct smelting and refining jobs.
- A regional business leader cautioned that broader closures might imperil up to 17,000 positions across North Queensland’s service and supply sectors.
- Mayor Danielle Slade is seeking a federal multi-billion dollar support package in Canberra to cushion Mount Isa from further economic fallout.