Evolution Mining CEO: Glencore smelter closure threatens green energy goals
The Glencore refinery and smelter in Queensland remain on the brink of closure after weeks of warnings from the company and talks with the state and federal governments. That's led to fears of another heavy industry shutdown just months after Labor campaigned on revitalising Australia's manufacturing sector, which is battling high labour and energy costs.
The Albanese government is funding the underwriting of an expanded capacity investment scheme, which aims to fast-track the construction of major solar and wind projects to meet its 2030 target of 82 per cent renewables.
Evolution Mining chief executive Laurie Conway said if the copper smelter closed, it would never re-open, and Australia would be forever consigned to importing the processed copper needed in big volumes for the energy transition. 'I think the Queensland and federal governments need to really understand that if that smelter closes, it will never reopen,' he said on the opening day of the Diggers & Dealers mining conference in Kalgoorlie. 'Having smelting capacity for a commodity that is going to be critical to the renewable pathway is fundamentally important, and I think the government has a role to play.'
Anthony Albanese was given a green light to turbocharge his clean energy revolution, with the Productivity Commission declaring the net-zero transition will cost even more than expected and that greater government intervention, regulation, incentives and carbon pricing are needed to hit Labor's climate targets without crippling the power grid or damaging productivity.
Mr Conway said the Queensland government's role was to provide services and support in the region, while the federal government needed to weigh up its responsibilities alongside its renewables targets and support for that industry.
'The more copper that you can process here, (the more it helps) in terms of renewables. You need copper to achieve those targets,' he said.
'If you don't have that capacity ... you are beholden to others.'
It is understood Glencore held talks with the Queensland government on Monday but remains at an impasse in Canberra.
Swiss-based Glencore is due to release its half-year results on Wednesday and provide an update on the future of the smelter and refinery that are losing about $30m a month. Glencore has said it will make its final decision by the end of September and has offered the federal government a range of assistance options, including handing part ownership to taxpayers.
Mr Albanese talked tough on Glencore in parliament last Friday, but acknowledged his government wanted to protect the national interest and jobs in Mt Isa, where the smelter is based.
'Let's be clear about Glencore though. It is a highly profitable company. Just this year they paid $2.2bn in dividends to their shareholders. Australia has been pretty good to Glencore. It's about time that Glencore recognised it needs to be good back to Australia,' he said.
Glencore's Mount Isa mining operation, known as MICO, closed last week, leaving it more reliant on supply from small and medium-sized copper mines in the northwest of Queensland.
Evolution has a life-of-mine offtake agreement with Glencore covering copper produced from the Ernest Henry mine that Evolution acquired from Glencore for $1bn in 2021.
The closure of the smelter would put the future of northern Australia's largest inland town in doubt. Mount Isa is the anchor city of Queensland's northwest, with its businesses and hospital servicing not only its 18,000 residents but the region as a whole.
A global desire to decarbonise by 2050 would require a significant increase in the number of mines and volumes produced, according to experts. EY said part of the energy transition would require massive volumes of copper – about 41 million tonnes – necessitating the construction of about 40 new large copper mines globally.
The Productivity Commission report also raised the issue of the government's controversial Capacity Investment Scheme for renewables which is due to stop in 2030 as potentially meaning the electricity sector might not decarbonise quickly enough in the next decade.
Andrew Forrest's Squadron Energy said it advocated for policy settings that reflect 'the true value of firmed renewables' and enabled investment in generation storage, grid upgrades, and regional development.
'This aligns with the Commission's recommendation to replace the Renewable Energy Target and Capacity Investment Scheme with more effective market mechanisms post-2030,' Squadron said in a statement. Read related topics: Climate Change Politics
Business leader Warwick Smith has warned Anthony Albanese to hasten slowly with any reforms agreed upon at the upcoming economic roundtable, amid warring unions and corporate groups. Business
Australia will set minimum prices for rare earth minerals and broker national supply deals to break China's grip on the critical defence material.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Sky News AU
12 minutes ago
- Sky News AU
Woolworths, McDonald's and Coles say they will not stock US beef despite relaxed biosecurity measures
Several major Australian companies have confirmed they are planning to stick with domestic beef suppliers despite the Albanese government's move to loosen import controls on meat products from the United States. In June, Agriculture Minister Julie Collins said Australia would be removing biosecurity restrictions on beef produced in the US, Canada and Mexico. The move sparked concern from farmers, who warned it could introduce mad cow disease into Australia and threaten the livelihood of domestic producers. However, McDonald's Australia and the nation's major supermarkets told they would continue to use Australian suppliers despite the government's move. In a statement, a Woolworths spokesperson said they had longstanding relationships with many domestic suppliers and had 'no plans' to source beef elsewhere. 'We apply an Australia-first approach and 100 per cent of our fresh red meat is sourced directly from Australian farmers,' they said. 'We have no plans to change that approach.' Meanwhile, a spokesperson for Coles said: 'At Coles, we continue to partner with top beef producers across Australia to bring our customers the high-quality, 100 per cent Australian-sourced Coles brand fresh beef that they enjoy today'. McDonald's Australia also said they would continue to purchase from Australian farmers. 'We'll continue to source 100 per cent Aussie beef for our menu and provide our customers with the great taste, quality, and value they know and love,' a spokesperson told Meat and Livestock Australia managing director Michael Crowley welcomed the decisions from Coles, Woolworth and McDonald's, as he sought to calm fears about the impact of the government's changes. 'The potential for US beef to be imported into Australia in large volumes is minimal,' he told Mr Crowley cited the high demand for Australian beef in the US, the low US cattle herd and the strength of the Australian dollar. "More than 99 per cent of beef available in Australian supermarkets, pubs and restaurants is Australian beef,' he said. "Australia produces approximately three times more beef than needed to feed our population. Around 70 per cent of our production is exported to global markets. "The impact of US and Canadian beef entering Australia is expected to be minimal. It is unlikely there will be an adverse effect on Australian cattle producers." The decision to loosen biosecurity rules comes as Australia attempts to navigate unpredictable trade policy from the Trump administration, including the threat of tariffs on a range of exports. Trade Minister Don Farrell has refused to be drawn on whether opening the Australian market to US beef was part of an effort to avoid any potential trade restrictions.
Sky News AU
12 minutes ago
- Sky News AU
Energy expert claims Labor's net zero pursuit creating 'a big mess', wind and solar causing power prices to 'spike'
Centre for Independent Studies energy analyst Zoe Hilton has claimed the Albanese government's pursuit of net zero was creating a "big mess", warning wind and solar were causing power prices to "spike continuously". Since winning the federal election, Labor has doubled down on its ambitious plan to ensure 82 per cent of the nation's energy comes from renewables by 2030. The push toward net zero has prompted warnings over rising electricity prices and the risk of compromising Australia's long-term energy security. It has also sparked heated debate over costs, with Ms Hilton highlighting the government's push to encourage home battery installation as she argued subsidies were being provided "hand over fist". "They're expecting consumers to buy these batteries, install them, and then hand the keys back over to the grid," she told Sky News Australia. "Consumers don't want to do that because batteries are very expensive and anyone buying a battery does it because really they want their own autonomy. "That means that the government has to hand out even more subsidies and so, of course, we've seen a pretty big uptick in battery uptake purely because the government is giving people money hand over fist for this." Ms Hilton claimed that rather than focusing on how net zero could or should be achieved, the government needed to simply ensure Australians had access to the cheapest and most reliable source of energy available. Despite this, she noted the release of a new Productivity Commission report into the energy transition did little to discuss how power prices could be quickly and effectively reduced. "The way I would describe the Productivity Commission's report is: 'How can we take taxpayers' money, put it in a hole, and set it on fire more productively?'," the energy analyst said. "That's essentially what they're saying, because they're trying to get these uneconomic projects rammed through even faster. They barely talk about how do we make energy cheaper. "At the end of the day, they barely talk how do lower electricity prices, which is what actually will drive productivity in our country, because electricity being cheap is what modern society relies on. "They just have no idea that wind and solar are the very things that are causing electricity prices to spike continuously." In its report, the Commission argued overlap and gaps in existing emissions reductions policies, as well as the broken approvals process for renewables projects were key factors in slowing the energy transition and contributing to higher costs. According to Ms Hilton, though, the issue remained that agencies continued to focus on the wrong problem, claiming continuing to attempt achieving net zero would simply result in a "big mess."
Sky News AU
12 minutes ago
- Sky News AU
Near 60 per cent jump in price of offshore wind in the UK a cautionary tale for Chris Bowen and his unprecedented new renewables remit
UN climate chief Simon Stiell has warned that megaâ€'droughts could one day make fresh fruit and vegetables a 'onceâ€'aâ€'year treat' in Australia, alongside a forecasted $6.8 trillion GDP loss by 2050 unless emissions targets are dramatically ramped up. It would be funny if it weren't being parroted so earnestly. An unelected Grenadian bureaucrat, clocking up air miles on long-haul jets, presuming to tell Australian taxpayers what their priorities should be, as though it's his divine right. Another climate hypocrite in the conga line of green evangelists, shrieking about catastrophe while living comfortably above the sacrifices they demand of everyone else. Next month, the Albanese government is expected to lock in its 2035 emissions target once the Climate Change Authority, chaired by former NSW Liberal premier Matt Kean, hands down its advice. The figure will likely fall between 65 and 75 per cent cuts compared to 2005 levels, dwarfing the already ambitious 43 per cent reduction due by 2030. This is less a public mandate than a frantic bid to impress international delegates ahead of Australia's COP31 hosting bid. Yet no one seems to have asked Australians whether bankrupting their country for climate kudos is a good idea. Or if they're prepared to see food and energy become luxuries in the name of 'ambition'. Meanwhile, households and businesses are already paying for this grand experiment. Between 2023 and midâ€'2025, energy bills have soared around 40 per cent nationwide. From July, default market offers climbed up to 10 per cent across NSW, Queensland, Victoria and South Australia; slugging families with an extra $280 a year. That's hardly pocket change for people who already turn the heating off to keep costs down. Small businesses are on life support. A family-run grocer in Wagga Wagga expects a $24,000 annual hike despite rooftop solar. Across the country, policy shifts have added roughly $4 billion to energy costs, squeezing margins, fuelling inflation and driving up food prices. Electricity costs rose 8.1 per cent in the past year alone, feeding directly into the 4.3 per cent spike in grocery bills and 4.5 per cent rent increases. The same policymakers who promise to save the planet are making it harder for ordinary people to afford dinner. And here's the kicker: Australia is one of the most resource-rich nations on earth. It has the largest coal deposits in the world, vast gas reserves, uranium for nuclear energy and critical minerals that the green transition itself depends on. Yet these assets are increasingly politically off-limits. Billions are poured into renewables while the grid can't cope with intermittent supply, new transmission lines face fierce local opposition, and large-scale storage remains a fantasy. The government wants 82 per cent renewables by 2030, yet warns of looming blackouts. The numbers don't add up, but the ideology marches on. Simon Stiell's sermon about fruit scarcity and GDP losses comes with theatrical hand-waving but little mention of the obvious: China, which builds coal-fired plants with impunity, emits more in a fortnight than Australia does all year and faces no comparable scolding. If Australia disappeared tomorrow, global emissions would barely flinch. Yet our leaders are desperate for pats on the back from unelected bureaucrats, ready to sacrifice competitiveness and affordability for a headline moment on the world stage. We've reached a point where even questioning the policy orthodoxy (what the UN frames as ambition) is treated as blasphemy. If you ask why the West should commit economic self-harm while other nations refuse to play ball, you're a denier. Nigel Farage found his bank account closed in part for being climate-sceptical. A climate priesthood is emerging, intolerant of dissent, allergic to scrutiny, and intoxicated by its own rhetoric. Britain's experience should be a cautionary tale. Successive governments have thrown billions at offshore wind, locking consumers into spiralling costs. The latest strike prices in Contracts for Difference auctions are around £60 per megawatt hour, nearly 60 per cent higher than two years ago. With wholesale electricity averaging £70–75/MWh, taxpayers are effectively underwriting inflated returns for developers while grid bottlenecks and storage delays mean intermittency remains unsolved. The supposed 'cheap wind revolution' has never materialised on consumer bills. Instead, households face higher costs and dwindling energy security- all for climate milestones that look impressive on a spreadsheet but feel punishing in reality. This hyperbolic messaging is deliberate. Andrew Neil exposed it live on the BBC when an Extinction Rebellion spokesperson admitted that exaggerated claims about climate-related deaths were used because 'alarmism works'. UN Secretary-General António Guterres took it further in 2023, declaring that 'the era of global boiling has arrived', that 'the air is unbreathable, the is heat unbearable'. Apocalyptic wordplay wins headlines, but it breeds despair, not action. A 2021 University of Bath survey found 56 per cent of young people worldwide believe humanity is doomed. If you think the end is guaranteed, why invest, innovate or adapt? Why train as an engineer or put capital into clean tech when the message from leaders is that it's already too late? In Canberra, politics has devolved into theatre. Labor governs with a majority but faces a Senate pulled between Greens and Teal independents demanding even harsher cuts, and a Coalition that only half-heartedly argues for gas and a slower transition. The tug-of-war has left no space for serious debate about cost, reliability or trade-offs. Real people pay real bills, industries consider offshoring, and taxpayers fund green gambles that threaten jobs and prosperity. Yet politicians fall over themselves to show 'ambition' to the UN, treating pain at home as proof of virtue abroad. There is a saner path. We can slash emissions without strangling growth or making families choose between heating and eating. With Australia's vast natural resources, it should be using cleaner coal, advanced gas technology, nuclear power where viable, and investing properly in energy storage and transmission to make renewables work. Innovation, not ideology, will get us to lower emissions faster than bureaucratic diktats and theatrical targets. But for now, the West seems intent on policy masochism, applauded by the same unelected officials who never pay the price. If climate leadership now means empty wallets, unreliable grids and strawberries rationed like wartime luxuries, we've gone badly wrong. We're not decarbonising the planet. We're decarbonising prosperity. It's time to bring common sense back to the table before the only thing we power reliably is fear. Esther Krakue is a British commentator who has regularly appeared on Sky News Australia programs, as well as on TalkTV and GB News in the UK. She launched her career with Turning Point UK, with whom she hosted a show featuring guests including Douglas Murray and Peter Hitchens
