Mount Isa provides updates on air quality to the community
Our Environment team has been engaging with the Mount Isa community, visiting local schools, medical centres, and hospital executives to provide updates on the latest air quality information.
These sessions give our community the chance to ask questions directly of Lombe, our Senior Environmental Advisor, who is on hand to break down the more technical aspects of air quality and how it’s monitored.
Mount Isa Mines operates one of Australia’s most comprehensive air quality monitoring frameworks, with 12 monitoring stations providing continuous, 24/7 data within 1,200 metres of residential areas. These stations track real-time air quality, meteorological conditions, sulphur dioxide (SO₂), and metal concentrations, enabling a highly responsive and transparent approach to environmental management.
The Air Quality Control Centre (AQC) aims to ensure our smelting operations are reduced or shut down in advance of any predicted adverse impacts to air quality in the Mount Isa community or if emissions approach regulatory limits. In 2025 alone, smelter operations were reduced or temporarily shut down for a combined total of 1,350.40 hours across 160 days to prevent adverse air quality outcomes.
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Lombe Mubanga, Senior Environmental Advisor, delivering an air quality information session to Gidgee Healing staff.
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An air quality session was presented to St Joseph’s Catholic Primary School as well as other schools and kindergartens.
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Mount Isa Mines has a number of monitors and gauges within the community to monitor performance and target improvement.
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Tegan Johns, Environmental Advisor, collects sampling for dust deposition.
Our operations are managed under the Queensland environmental regulatory regime. Our mining lease is governed by separate permits and authorities with stringent and transparent reporting of our environmental performance.
As part of our Queensland Government approved Environmental Authority, Mount Isa Mines employs management plans to measure, manage and reduce dust and emissions generated from our operations.
We will continue to hold learning sessions, as well as our quarterly Community Information Sessions, with the next session planned for July 2026. Additional details will be provided to the community closer to the event date.
You can find detailed information about our air quality management practices, improvement initiatives and results from Mount Isa’s extensive monitoring network on the air quality in Mount Isa webpage.