The Hodgman Liberal Government has acted to protect future mining jobs on the West Coast by helping to ensure the Mt Lyell mine is in a position to reopen when the copper price improves.
One of our oldest and most important mines, Mt Lyell has been under care and maintenance since early last year, and has faced the very real prospect of closure.
This decision would result in the flooding of the mine and the end of any realistic possibility of reopening, and it’s why the Liberal Government has been working with the operator to avoid such a fate.
A $25 million assistance package to Copper Mines of Tasmania (CMT) will ensure the mine remains in care and maintenance and give it every opportunity to reopen when the world copper price improves.
Only to be paid if the mine does reopen, the assistance would be in the form of a grant to reimburse CMT for payroll tax and royalties and would be paid over a five-year period from the recommencement of operations.
CMT and its parent company, Vedanta, have said this package will give Mt Lyell the best possible chance of reopening.
While, unfortunately, the immediate outlook is not positive due to low copper prices, there has been a strong commitment by CMT and Vedanta to reopening the mine.
The company has invested about $68 million on maintenance, environmental projects, exploration and the design of new mining methods.
Mt Lyell is now backed by proven financial and technical feasibility studies, and is ready to go as soon as there is a sustainable improvement in the copper market.
A reopened Mt Lyell is expected to employ about 135 full-time equivalent workers, with more than 50 contractors also engaged in the operation.