Mount Isa Mines community update

Media statement
Mount Isa, Australia

The Mount Isa Mines (MIM) leadership team tonight hosted the first Community Information Session for 2024. The business update for local community members covered a range of topics, including:

• Investment into exploration, with MIM significantly increasing its exploration budget to $60 million over 2023-24 alone. The program includes multiple exploration tenements, which together represent a total exploration area equivalent to approximately 9590km2.
• Investment into projects including the Black Star Open Cut (BSOC) extension to reopen and extend the existing open pit. The project is currently in pre-feasibility stage and will move forward with planned works including definition drilling, metallurgical testing, engineering, and a mine plan design. Although it is still subject to a final investment decision, Glencore anticipates the project could be operational from 2027.
• Transition of the Mount Isa copper smelter to full custom smelting, with 60% of the concentrate feeds already coming from other sources overseas and in Australia, including locally from Ernest Henry Mine (EHM). This approach and move to custom smelting will further support the business case to extend the smelter operations out to 2030.
• Investigating future options for the copper concentrator, to determine whether it can run at partial or full capacity supporting other miners in the area.

Following the announcement in October 2023 that MIM’s underground copper operations have reached the end of their life and would be transitioning to closure in 2025, MIM has been implementing a comprehensive process to support the transition and closure of these operations. This has included:

• Speaking with our people and key stakeholders about the pathway forward, how they may be impacted, and what support is available.
• Commencing a detailed operational and workforce planning process to identify changing business needs and assess people’s options around retention, redeployment, and retraining.
• Holding 155 individual support sessions, receiving over 547 Expressions of Interest from people about their future employment interests and communicated 100s of job matching opportunities.
• Meeting face-to-face with local suppliers to discuss what these changes might mean for them and what future opportunities there may be with other parts of MIM’s business.

Chief Operating Officer for Glencore’s Zinc and Copper Assets, Sam Strohmayr said:

“This week we’re celebrating 100 years of successful operations at MIM, where through the hard work of thousands of people across decades and the support of the community, MIM has made a lasting mark in Australia’s history and the global mining stage.”

“We’re also providing an update on our current operations, with the closure of underground copper mining in 2025 marking a significant announcement not only for MIM, but also for local businesses, the community and north-west region.

“But I want to assure everyone that we are absolutely focused on two things: delivering the best possible closure and transition process and looking to the future for new opportunities, including the ongoing investment in our long-life zinc, lead, and silver operations.

“MIM still has a long and exciting future ahead.”

Mr Strohmayr said that as part of the closure planning and social transition process, Glencore was undertaking social impact assessment work to better understand the impacts of the copper operations closure.

“We are working through several processes to support closure and transition, including detailed workforce planning, speaking with local suppliers, developing a Social Transition Plan and working with all levels of government to coordinate initiatives and support,” he said.

“This includes actively participating in the Government’s Mount Isa region Future Advisory Committee to help develop a plan and initiatives that look to the future and support continued resilience and diversification of the region’s economy.”

For further information, please contact:

Nadine Roberts
m: +61 436 341 650
e: Nadine Roberts

Kate Collins
m: +61 408 129 909
e: Kate Collins

Notes for editors

About Glencore Australia

In Australia, Glencore produces coal, copper, cobalt, nickel, zinc, lead and silver from 23 mining operations. We also operate metals processing assets in Queensland, Western Australia and the Northern Territory, including metals smelters, concentrators and refineries.

We are among Australia’s largest producers and marketers of natural resources, connecting Australian resources with industrial customers around the world. Through our diverse portfolio, we responsibly supply the resources that advance everyday life.

We employ 18,190 people in Australia and in 2022 contributed nearly $20 billion to the regional, state and national economies. This included spend of $10.4 billion with 7,370 businesses across the country, as well as $7.5 billion in government tax and royalty payments.

We are committed to providing a safe, inclusive and respectful workplace for our people, to respecting the environment, to engaging openly and constructively with the Traditional Owners on whose lands we operate and to bringing value to local communities.

Glencore recognises our responsibility to contribute to the global effort to achieve the goals of the Paris Agreement. Our ambition is to be a net zero total emissions company by 2050. In August 2021 we increased our medium-term emission reduction target to a 50% reduction by 2035 and introduced a new short-term target of a 15% reduction by 2026.

Learn more about Glencore Australia.

About Mount Isa Mines

Mount Isa Mines, established in 1923, is a leading mining company with a rich history of innovation and community engagement. The company operates in [list of minerals mined] and is committed to sustainable practices, contributing to the economic and social development of the Mount Isa region.

Mount Isa Mines operates two separate mining and processing streams, copper and zinc-lead-silver, to deliver natural resources that have enduring roles in our society. The site hosts the world’s largest zinc resource base, as well as the biggest network of underground mine development in the world.

The site includes three copper underground mines, two zinc underground mines, the copper concentrator and smelter, as well as the zinc-lead concentrator, lead smelter and zinc filter plant. Together, these represent one of Australia’s largest industrial complexes.

As well as the Australian market, our products are exported to countries throughout Asia, Europe and the United Kingdom, contributing billions of dollars to the Australian economy every year. We provide work for about 3,500 employees and contractors and are dedicated to supporting local people, local businesses, and creating strong links between our operations and the city of Mount Isa.

Learn more about Mount Isa Mines.