Swiss multinational Glencore’s struggling Mount Isa copper smelter will receive a bailout to keep the plant in operation and secure at least 600 regional jobs, Industry Minister Tim Ayres will announce today.

The second industry rescue package this year comes less than a month after Glencore said it would be forced to close the facility, which operates at a loss, if it could not secure federal or state government funding. Of particular concern was the cost of re-bricking the smelter infrastructure, which has to be done at considerable expense every four years.

Glencore’s lead and copper smelters in Mount Isa. Credit: Paul Harris

The cost of the deal to rescue Australia’s third-largest industrial facility is unclear, but is expected to be announced at a doorstop interview Ayres is ho

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