Major smelters under a cloud, government money runs out
More than 1,000 jobs and operations at two smelters are under a cloud as governments and an international company dispute the dollar figure for the new support package.
$135 million in taxpayer-funded aid to support the Nyrstar smelters at Port Pirie in South Australia and Hobart in Tasmania expired on Friday.
No agreement was reached on the new package after weeks of talks, but South Australian Premier Peter Malinauskas said the revised offer would be presented to Nyrstar by the end of Friday.
He was confident that negotiations were moving in the right direction, but also said failure to reach a suitable agreement could have “very serious” consequences.
Under the previous package announced in August, the federal government provided $57.5 million, South Australia $55 million and Tasmania $22.5 million.
The main difference during the negotiations was the level of financing, Mr. Malinauskas told reporters.
“We need to make sure we don’t unnecessarily fund Nyrstar for operations,” he said.
But we also recognize that there is a legitimate struggle for national sovereignty here.”
Combining the production of lead, silver, zinc and other critical minerals, the Port Pirie and Hobart smelters employ approximately 800 and 500 workers respectively.
A spokesman for Federal Industry Minister Tim Ayres said all three governments were committed to maintaining a viable smelting industry.
“Nyrstar’s Port Pirie and Hobart facilities are strategically important assets that play a key role in Australia’s critical mining future,” he said.
Tasmanian Premier Jeremy Rockliff said his government had put $7.5 million on the table during ongoing talks and hoped to find a solution as soon as possible.
Mr Malinauskas said Port Pirie should remain an ongoing operation.
“If we lose our smelting operations, we lose our ability to produce the critical minerals and metals that we know the rest of the world needs,” he said.
Nyrstar Port Pirie general manager Darrin Cooper said significant improvements and the production of the country’s first antimony metal had been achieved since the August financing agreement.
“Disappointingly, despite this progress… we have not been able to agree on the next phase and now have to consider all options for the business,” he said.
The August funding was to maintain ongoing operations and enable significant reconstruction of smelters and feasibility studies for critical metal production.
Tasmania’s independent federal MP Andrew Wilkie said the situation was extremely worrying.
He said the survival of the Hobart smelter was important for hundreds of people and for Australia’s wider economic resilience and national security.
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