Mount Isa Mines celebrates 100 years of operation
One of Australia’s most iconic mining operations — Mount Isa Mines — has celebrated its 100th birthday.
Formed on January 16th, 1924, the discovery of Mount Isa Mines came almost a year after prospector John Campbell Miles discovered mineralised outcrops near the Leichhardt River that contained high grades of lead-silver.
Since then, the operation has grown to be a major contributor of copper, zinc and lead to global suppliers. These minerals are used in everyday items such as phones, laptops, electric cars and renewable energy technologies.
Several significant mining industry innovations were pioneered at Mount Isa Mines, including the ISASMELT smelting technology, the IsaMill fine grinding technology and the Jameson Cell flotation technology.
All of these innovations are part of Glencore Technology and sold to customers around the world to help extract more from their metal and mineral processing assets — lowering costs, reducing energy consumption and improving safety outcomes.
Glencore chief operating officer zinc and copper assets Sam Strohmayr commented on the milestone.
“This remarkable achievement reflects the qualities of resilience, drive and dedication that define our company,” he said.
“Our success has been built on the hard work of former and current employees, support of the community and a commitment to excellence in all our endeavours.
“Our long history is made-up of hard work, countless stories, fond memories and valuable experiences for people who have either worked at Mount Isa Mines for a short time or several generations.”
In mid-October 2023, Glencore announced that it would be closing the Mount Isa Mines underground copper operations (Enterprise, X41 and Black Rock) and copper concentrator in H2 2025 after 60 years of copper mining.
Glencore’s Lady Loretta zinc mine, a finite orebody with a seven-year mine life, will also close in 2025.
The mine’s other metals assets including the copper smelter, George Fisher mine, zinc-lead concentrator and lead smelter in Mount Isa, plus the copper refinery in Townsville, will continue operating.
Over its life, Mount Isa Mines produced enough copper to build over 39m houses and enough zinc to manufacture over 535m cars.
