Financially-troubled smelter Nyrstar to miss $20 million repayment towards taxpayer-funded loan

The financially-troubled owner of Port Pirie’s lead smelter will not meet an expected March deadline to repay $20 million towards a taxpayer-backed loan.

The Nyrstar smelter in Port Pirie. Picture: Matt Loxton

• Nyrstar misses first payment deadline
• Loan payback deal could be struck early in 2019
• Taxpayers could be on the hook for Nyrstar’s financial crisis
• Nyrstar suing Port Pirie Regional Council over new tax

The financially troubled owner of Port Pirie’s lead smelter will not meet an expected March deadline to repay $20 million towards a taxpayer backed loan.

South Australian Treasurer Rob Lucas confirmed Nyrstar would not, by the end of this month, make its first payment towards a $291 million loan.

He continued to be concerned there would be a $291 million hit to the Budget if Nyrstar collapsed, but said the Government was “still hopeful of reaching some agreement”.

“If we could we were hoping to have a payment made by the end of the month but that’s not going to be achieved,” he said.

The Advertiser revealed this week that Nyrstar was taking court action against the Port Pirie Council over a separate rates levy.

The company argued the creation of a specially targeted rates category, hitting the company’s eight properties with a combined $1.34 million bill, was “without legal basis”.

The Nyrstar smelter in Port Pirie. Picture: Matt Loxton

Nyrstar twice last year failed to make payments to its financiers towards the loan, which enabled it to upgrade its lead smelter at Port Pirie, with the next payment due in May.

The company and Mr Lucas announced last year, following discussions in Adelaide, that Nyrstar was hopeful a payment of $20 million would be made early in 2019.

That timeline was revised to the end of March.

A Nyrstar spokesman said the company continued to work constructively with the Government and awaited developments on negotiations with “other parties”.

Meanwhile, Port Pirie Mayor Leon Stephens said the council would “vigorously defend” the court action filed by Nyrstar over its rates bill, saying it was “consistent” with its rating strategy approved in 2013.

“Council is nevertheless hopeful that it can sit down with Nyrstar to discuss their concerns,” Mr Stephens said.

Labor treasury spokesman Stephen Mullighan said Nyrstar needed to assure workers and the community that the process to repay financiers was “on track and they’re still confident of resolving it”.