On July 21, the zinc price touched the $3000/per tonne mark - only the second time in almost a decade it has reached that milestone number.

At the time of writing, the zinc price was at $3,026AU/per tonne – and I’m confident it will continue to rise.

The zinc price is of significant importance to the North West Minerals Province.

We understand the cyclical nature of commodity prices and how the fluctuations influence our city which is heavily reliant on the mining industry.

The zinc price has been steadily on the rise since late last year when the devastating news of hundreds of job losses in Glencore’s zinc operations were revealed.

We have a number of mines – both new and existing - which are dependent on the price of zinc.

A positive outlook for the zinc price is particularly encouraging for the reopening of Lady Loretta Mine.

George Fisher Mine is also a 20-plus year resource which will sustain jobs and economic activity in Mount Isa for decades.

To ensure everything is in place for when operations are ready to ramp up again, I’ve had regular discussions with Glencore senior management and the Queensland Government.

This should be a confidence booster to go with a number of significant infrastructure projects ramping up.

The Dugald River project near Cloncurry is on track towards production, offering opportunities for locals.

Nearby, investment in Altona Mining’s Cloncurry copper-gold project is another much-needed economic boost for the North West.

The $800 million Northern Gas Pipeline will also generate hundreds of construction jobs.

There are better times just around the corner, and we have the potential to recover in the short time better than most places in the state.

It’s also great to see the economies of many of our rural towns receiving a much-needed boost with tourist season in full swing, especially in the lead-up to the Mount Isa Rodeo.

State Scene is a fortnightly column in the North West Star written by State member for Mount Isa Robbie Katter MP.