Community

Mount Isa Mines has a deep connection to the Mount Isa community, stretching back to 1923 when zinc-lead-silver ore was discovered.

As we continue to grow together, we:

• involve residents in decisions affecting them, keeping them informed about our operations and listening to their needs and concerns
• acknowledge the Traditional Owners of the land, seeking to respect their culture, history and relationship to the land
• support the Mount Isa community to help improve their strength and resilience into the future.

Opportunities for Indigenous people

We encourage the capacity building of Indigenous people by providing pathways for career development.

Feedback welcomed

Regular information sessions in Mount Isa enable the community to ask questions and talk to our senior business leaders.

We engage openly, honestly and collaboratively to develop solutions and guide mutually-beneficial outcomes. This helps us to effectively review and update our response to everyday conditions and issues.

Complaint and grievance hotlines

Mount Isa Mines operates a Community Feedback Hotline which is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Our Community Relations team will handle your concern and provide your feedback to our operations. Callers can choose to remain anonymous.

Our metals assets in Queensland have invested more than $25 million in the past decade in events, projects and initiatives in North Queensland.

We partner with local groups to build a strong, sustainable region with lasting benefits, including:

• employment opportunities
• support for local businesses
• community projects.

One of the ways we partner on community projects is through our Corporate Social Investment Fund, a program dedicated to supporting Mount Isa's community-based events and initiatives, and locally based infrastructure projects, identified in consultation with our local community, government and other key stakeholders.

How to apply

To determine eligibility and apply for the Corporate Social Investment Fund, refer to our guidelines and application form (DOCX 1MB).

The health and wellbeing of our people and community comes first.

At Mount Isa Mines, we are diligent when it comes to optimising our community's health, and we are committed to working collaboratively with our community to explore health-focused initiatives, investing over $600 million since 2003 to advance environmental management practices. 

Some of these initiatives include our air quality monitoring program, Mount Isa's Lead Alliance, and free capillary testing.

Air quality control

Mount Isa Mines manages one of the largest and most comprehensive air quality monitoring networks of any city in Australia, aimed at minimising potential impacts on our local community. Real-time air quality data is captured at 13 stations located across the city and region.

We review engineering approaches, operating procedures and monitoring programs for ways to reduce emissions. We also operate and monitor more air quality sensors than required by our Environmental Authority (EA) to provide additional information to guide our approaches.

In 2006, we commissioned an independent Lead Pathways Study by the University of Queensland's Centre for Mined Land Rehabilitation to track potential lead movement in Mount Isa. The study was completed in 2017. It concluded there was a relatively low health risk from lead in soil, water and air for most of the Mount Isa community.

Learn about the Lead Pathways Study.

Public education focus

Glencore is a founding member of the Lead Alliance, whose public education targets Mount Isa residents’ health. The community is informed how to live safely in an environment where lead is present from natural and industrial sources.