Glencore's copper boss in Mount Isa says the business still has a bright future ahead though energy costs were still very high and needed to be reined in.
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Glencore's North Queensland Copper Assets' chief operating officer Matt O'Neill used the official opening of Mount Isa's MineX on Thursday to reflect on almost a hundred years of business for Mount Isa Mines and look at where it was heading.
"The world class (Mount Isa) ore body was discovered in 1923 and if you have a look at our history in this region there is a really important message I think," Mr O'Neill said.
"Have a look at some of the things Mount Isa Mines invested in and also really important the local council, the state government and the federal government all saw the importance of what we were doing in North West Queensland."
Mr O'Neill said there were plenty of opportunities to grow the industry locally in the next hundred years but they need to look carefully at costs.
"The people that we have working here are world class and some of the best in the world," he said,
"But we also face some of the highest power costs in the world."
The cost of energy was a message reiterated by MMH's general manager at Dugald River Mine Sam Rodda who told a lunchtime gathering that power was a very high and fixed cost for their business and they were looking to get that down by connecting the North West to the east coast electricity grid.
"Our challenge is to lower our costs, as a zinc cost producer we are in the top 10 percent in the world," Mr Rodda said.
Glencore and MMG were among over 80 businesses represented at MineX 2019 and Commerce North West president Travis Crowther said this year's expo was a showcase for the Carpentaria Minerals Province.
"With an abundant proportion of the world's known lead and zinc, silver and copper reserves as well as many phosphate and uranium deposits, operations such as Glencore's Mount Isa and George Fisher mines have in production in the city as early as 1924," Mr Crowther said.
Thursday was the trade only day with MineX open to the public Friday and Saturday.
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Derek Barry
Editor of the North West Star Mount Isa since January 2016. Prior to that, an editor at several regional southern Queensland newspapers. Passionate about telling local stories. Comes with a strange accent to due an Irish accident of birth.
Editor of the North West Star Mount Isa since January 2016. Prior to that, an editor at several regional southern Queensland newspapers. Passionate about telling local stories. Comes with a strange accent to due an Irish accident of birth.
