Mt Isa seeks $2bn government investment lifeline

If the Federal Government is handing out bailouts, Mt Isa has put it hands up, calling for a $2bn investment fund to revive the struggling outback Queensland city.

Mount Isa City Council Mayor Peta MacRae at APA's Dugald River Solar Farm.

The outback city of Mount Isa will ask governments for a $2bn investment fund to start a rescue mission for the city to stem the economic and social losses that will occur when Glencore shuts its copper operations later this year and at least 600 people lose their jobs.

It follows the Federal Government bailouts for the aluminium industry, particularly Gladstone’s, and the $2.4bn for the South Australian steelworks at Whyalla.

The Mount Isa Council was spurred into action by Glencore’s decision to shut its copper operations in town. Other mines are also coming to the end of their life and without action, the city’s population could fall from its current 19,000 to about 10,000.

A strategic report from Mount Isa City Council and Next Economy cites 28 prioritised projects worth about $2.7bn. It includes “Flying Whales’’ (blimps) for air transport, building a correctional facility, gravity energy storage in disused mine shafts, and critical mineral development.

It will target the Federal Government’s recently legislated $22bn Future Made in Australia strategy and the Critical Minerals fund.

When Glencore announced the closure in 2023 it said job losses would be about 1200 however in media briefings this week Glencore suggested this was now likely to be 600, but there has been no official confirmation. Even so, combined with other looming mine closures the impact will be significant in a city where unemployment is above 5 per cent.

Mayor Peta MacRae said the council should have started the diversification of its economy a long time ago and the pending closure of the copper operations would be a huge loss.

“If we took no action now, we would lose population which would put the economy into a decline and that would create social issues as well,’’ she said.

“We are going to be lobbying the government for money so we can get up some of these key projects identified in the report.’’

Mt Isa Mayor Peta MacRae said the council should have started the diversification of the city’s economy a long time ago.

The council has signed memorandums of understanding with Green Gravity, a gravitational energy company that wants to use the disused mine shafts for energy storage.

“We have an MOU with the Flying Whales, which is a new type of logistics that can overcome those problems when you have roads and bridges that don’t have adequate capacity for what’s needed,’’ the mayor said.

“We also have an MOU with Cobalt Blue and we are also looking at a critical minerals research facility. ‘’

Another project the council wants is a correctional facility in the city.

Next Economy chief executive Amanda Cahill said mining towns like Mt Isa could no longer consider it to be business as usual.

She said the report was important because it speaks to all mining towns.

“We are at a crucial time where closures are happening, but there is also this huge potential around critical mineral mining and processing. There hasn’t been a lot of work on what it’s going to take to develop those industries because it’s new.

“The way mining towns have been developed is not the way we are going to develop the next industry. Originally places like Mt Isa were built by one major mining company and that’s not the case anymore. There are junior miners coming with complex mining techniques. There are a lot of unknowns.

“That’s what the report is about – what is it going to take for mining towns like Mt Isa to develop a new generation of wealth for Australia and can we do it?

“We know that’s the same question facing the Spencer Gulf and the Pilbara with a lot of new energy coming into the mix.

“All levels of government need to (step up). What is great about this roadmap is that’s it’s an example of a council taking the reins and filling that leadership role.

“This is not business as usual. This is about a whole new industry that is going to underpin the next generation of wealth. It’s going to need new techniques and investment up front and that’s risky for investors. To reduce that risk is where government can play a role and reduce the risk and make it attractive to investors.’’

The council’s plan is aimed at diversifying the economy and is aiming at decarbonisation, future proofing tourism and agriculture, ensuring the development of the $5 billion CopperString transmission project and improving liveability and tourism infrastructure.

John McCarthy is a former resources editor of The Courier-Mail and a consultant to Next Economy

Originally published as Mt Isa seeks $2bn government investment lifeline