Latest news with #MattHowell
AU Financial Review
01-07-2025
- Business
- AU Financial Review
Nyrstar warns of ‘urgent, serious' risk of smelter closure
The chief executive of Nyrstar Australia says the metal processor urgently needs to secure a government rescue package to ensure a future for its loss-making smelters in South Australia and Tasmania as the company's Swiss owner weighs whether to close the plants within weeks. Matt Howell, who took over as chief executive of Nyrstar Australia in January, has been locked in talks with the federal, South Australian and Tasmanian governments for months on assistance. The three governments are now close to a deal, with an outcome expected as early as this week.
ABC News
26-06-2025
- Business
- ABC News
Port Pirie and Hobart smelters need 'urgent' government help, owner says
The owner of the Port Pirie and Hobart smelters says its operations are losing tens of millions of dollars a month and need government help within "weeks" to stay afloat, casting a cloud over thousands of manufacturing jobs. Nyrstar Australia, which employs more than 1,400 people across Tasmania and South Australia, is lobbying the federal and South Australian governments to provide "transitionary support" for its smelting operations. The company says the Port Pirie lead smelter is losing tens of millions of dollars a month and will "simply not survive" in the current market, while its Hobart zinc smelter cannot operate independently of Port Pirie. Nyrstar Australia chief executive Matt Howell said government action was needed in "weeks, not months". "The business at Port Pirie is losing very considerable money — tens of millions a month — because of this distorted market, and it requires a response now," he told the ABC. "That's why we're quite buoyed by the nature of the conversations that we've had with the Commonwealth and state. "They recognise the seriousness, they recognise the urgency, and we're confident we'll get a solution." The renewed call for taxpayer help comes after Nyrstar's parent company Trafigura earlier this year placed its Australian smelting assets under review, describing them as "uncompetitive" entities that "shouldn't be in fully private hands". China has, according to Mr Howell, distorted the metals market by subsidising companies to purchase Australian raw materials at prices Australian smelters cannot afford. China then subsidises the processing of those materials into metals while also placing export controls over the finished product, he said. The issue has also put a cloud over the future of the Mount Isa copper smelter and Townsville copper refinery in Queensland. "We have been quite clear that business as usual under the current distorted market is not an option," Mr Howell said. "That's why this is a now problem. That's why it needs urgent government transitionary support. "This is not something where we can kick the can down the road into next year, the business will simply not survive in the current market environment. "Absent that market support, the business cannot be viable, and we all know what that means." Around 850 full-time workers are employed at the Port Pirie smelter, Mr Howell said, not accounting for hundreds more connected to the facility through contractors. The Hobart smelter employs around 600 people, not including contractors. The problems for Australia's smelting industry come only months after the South Australian government and the Commonwealth committed $2.4 billion to ensure the future of the financially troubled Whyalla steelworks. The state government regularly cited concerns about Australia's sovereign steelmaking capacity if the Whyalla steelworks closed. Mining giant Glencore made a pointed comparison to the $2.4 billion steelworks package in a pitch for federal government money for its Queensland copper assets. But SA Premier Peter Malinauskas said the smelter at Port Pirie is a "completely different asset" to the Whyalla steelworks with "completely different" circumstances. "We very much think that this country does require a sovereign smelting capability," he said. "That is a challenge that we're alive and we're in discussions with Trafigura about that at the moment." SA Energy and Mining Minister Tom Koutsantonis said it was not a Port Pirie issue but an "Australia smelter issue". "Smelters across the country are going through this because of the practices occurring in China, which is attempting to try an in-house this capability entirely in one country," he said. Mr Koutsantonis said he was in "regular contact" with federal Industry Minister Tim Ayres, who is "actively looking at this on behalf of the entire country". "This needs a national response," he said. The ABC contacted Mr Ayres for comment. Mr Howell said Nyrstar is willing to fund a $45 million feasibility study into redeveloping its Port Pirie smelter. The study will take 22 months to complete, and the company needs government support over that time, he added. "Over that period of time, absent any government support, the business would be losing many hundreds of millions of dollars because of the market distortion," he said. The Hobart zinc smelter also needs to be upgraded, he said. Mr Howell said Nyrstar was "looking for a hand up, not a handout", adding that company management has "tried everything that we can to restructure the business". "This is about investing in strategically important businesses that provide the necessities to modern life and for our strategic defence purposes."
Reuters
21-05-2025
- Business
- Reuters
Australia's Nyrstar seeks government funding for antimony production
MELBOURNE, May 21 (Reuters) - Nyrstar, owned by global commodity trader Trafigura, could potentially produce the critical mineral antimony at its South Australian processing plant but would need government support to do so, its CEO Matt Howell said. New supply of the strategic metal crucial to the production of ammunition, night-vision goggles, and infrared sensors is in high demand after China, the world's biggest antimony producer, imposed export controls last year. As part of a strategic review of Nyrstar's Australian operations Trafigura is undertaking, Nyrstar found it would be able to produce up to 5,000 tonnes of antimony metal or antimony trioxide a year at its multi-metals processing plant in Port Pirie by adding an additional processing stage after lead smelting, the company said. "We have the capability to produce a range of critical minerals including antimony to help meet global demand," Nyrstar CEO Matt Howell said. "However, it will require significant investments and support to address the unsustainable market pressures that Australian smelters are facing," he said in a statement to Reuters on May 5. Howell did not specify how much government funding would be necessary to support output at the Port Pirie site or when it could begin producing antimony metal. Australia's smelters are struggling with high domestic power costs and an oversupply of processing capacity in China that has squeezed the fees they can charge to process material. The Australian government is offering billions of dollars in funding to support critical mineral processing. "Antimony is defined as a critical mineral by the Australian Government, which provides a pathway to access substantial government support," a South Australian government spokesperson said. He added that complex refineries were key to the state's economy.
Yahoo
21-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Australia's Nyrstar seeks government funding for antimony production
MELBOURNE (Reuters) - Nyrstar, owned by global commodity trader Trafigura, could potentially produce the critical mineral antimony at its South Australian processing plant but would need government support to do so, its CEO Matt Howell said. New supply of the strategic metal crucial to the production of ammunition, night-vision goggles, and infrared sensors is in high demand after China, the world's biggest antimony producer, imposed export controls last year. As part of a strategic review of Nyrstar's Australian operations Trafigura is undertaking, Nyrstar found it would be able to produce up to 5,000 tonnes of antimony metal or antimony trioxide a year at its multi-metals processing plant in Port Pirie by adding an additional processing stage after lead smelting, the company said. "We have the capability to produce a range of critical minerals including antimony to help meet global demand," Nyrstar CEO Matt Howell said. "However, it will require significant investments and support to address the unsustainable market pressures that Australian smelters are facing," he said in a statement to Reuters on May 5. Howell did not specify how much government funding would be necessary to support output at the Port Pirie site or when it could begin producing antimony metal. Australia's smelters are struggling with high domestic power costs and an oversupply of processing capacity in China that has squeezed the fees they can charge to process material. The Australian government is offering billions of dollars in funding to support critical mineral processing. "Antimony is defined as a critical mineral by the Australian Government, which provides a pathway to access substantial government support," a South Australian government spokesperson said. He added that complex refineries were key to the state's economy.
