Work starts on Glencore’s copper smelter rebrick in Mount Isa
Media release
Mount Isa, Queensland
Glencore’s Mount Isa Mines (MIM) has started its 2026 rebricking program and completed significant maintenance work at its copper smelter.
The MIM workforce made the most of a smelter shutdown earlier this year to complete critical maintenance activities. The shutdown was brought on by a record-breaking wet season and the subsequent shortage of regional copper concentrates to feed the smelter.
At the same time Glencore kicked off the smelter rebricking project, replacing the lining of the Refractory Holding Furnace No.1 (RHF1).
Twenty specialist refractory brick layers were brought in to assist with placing 29,500 bricks weighing 242 tonnes at RHF1, as well as riggers, fitters, boilermakers, electricians, spotters and crane operators from local contracting teams in addition to Glencore’s own workforce.
Refractory bricks form part of the furnaces that heat up copper concentrate to purify it into molten copper for casting into anodes. The anodes are transported to the Townsville Copper Refinery and refined into 99.9995 percent pure copper cathode. These furnaces operate at temperatures of up to 1,200 degrees Celsius and over time the heat and process conditions erode the bricks.
Glencore’s General Manager for Queensland Metallurgical Operations Richard Harvey said all teams did an exceptional job and the work was completed injury-free.
“We’re proud to have kept our smelter and refinery workforce on site and productive over the past four months of the smelter shutdown. I’m proud of the resilience, innovation and hard work they’ve displayed to turn a difficult situation into an opportunity,” Mr Harvey said.
The smelter rebricking project forms part of Glencore’s agreement with the Federal and Queensland Governments and will continue later in the year, when the rebrick of RHF2 will take place followed by the ISASMELTTM furnace in early 2027.
For further information, please contact:
Agata Graham
m: +61 438 304 345
e: Agata Graham
Francis De Rosa
m: +61 417 074 751
e: Francis De Rosa
Notes for editors
About Glencore in Australia
In Australia, Glencore produces coal, zinc, nickel, cobalt, copper, lead and silver from 20 active mining operations. We also operate metals processing assets in Queensland, Western Australia and the Northern Territory, including concentrators, smelters 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 17,420 people in Australia and in 2024 contributed $19.6 billion to the regional, state and national economies. This included spend of $13.2 billion with 6,810 businesses across the country, as well as $3.6 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.
We will support the global effort to achieve the goals of the Paris Agreement through our efforts to decarbonise our own operational footprint. We believe that we should take a holistic approach and have considered our commitment through the lens of our global industrial emissions. For more information see our 2024-2026 Climate Action Transition Plan.
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