Glencore goes from raw to refined
Project Proponent
Glencore is one of the world largest globally diversified natural resource companies. Glencore Queensland Metals currently operates two mines and a smelter in Mount Isa and their refinery in Townsville.
Along with their extraction and refining processes, they have Port operations in Townsville that export to Asia, Europe and North America, as well as other regions in Australia.
Copper for Consumer
The Townsville copper refinery has the capacity to produce up to 300,000 tonnes of pure 99.995% copper cathode annually. Copper cathode is the primary raw material used in the manufacturing of copper wire, cabling, and numerous other everyday products.
The process begins with the mining of copper ore from the North West Mineral Province. The ore is then smelted into copper anode at the Mount Isa smelter, which is transported by rail and road to the refinery in Townsville. At the refinery, the copper anode undergoes an electrolytic refining process. This involves submerging the anode in an acidic copper sulfate solution and applying a low-voltage electric current over the course of 10 days. This separation process extracts the pure copper content from the waste materials.
The refined copper cathodes are then sampled and bundled for export through the Port of Townsville to international customers. Additionally, the leftover impurities from the refining process contain other valuable minerals, including silver and gold and is also exported through the port.
Continuation of the Smelter and Refinery
Despite the closure of Glencore's copper operations at Mount Isa Mines in 2025, Glencore has committed to keeping their smelter and refinery operating to 2030. There is confidence that there is enough supply from other copper mining operations in the region for the smelter and refinery to remain profitable. In the next 30 years the global demand for copper is expected to more than double its current production levels with the development of new and in demand energy technologies. Agreements such as the one made with True North Copper will see Glencore purchase all of the copper concentrate from their Cloncurry project, which will support the operations of the smelter and refinery that employs 570 workers.
