Australia Pledges A$135 Million to Keep Trafigura’s Nyrstar Smelters Alive

Australia’s federal and state governments will provide about A$135 million (US$87 million) to keep Trafigura-owned Nyrstar’s Port Pirie lead smelter and Hobart zinc plant operating while the company studies a major upgrade. The financing averts the threatened closure of the two loss-making facilities, which Nyrstar had placed under strategic review because of high energy costs and weak processing fees. In return for the lifeline, Nyrstar will accelerate studies to modernise the plants and add production of antimony and bismuth at Port Pirie and germanium and indium at Hobart—metals deemed critical for defence, electronics and the energy transition. The company’s immediate focus is a pilot antimony plant capable of producing about 15,000 tonnes a year, according to Industry Minister Tim Ayres. The bailout forms part of Canberra’s broader push to build supply chains for critical minerals outside China. The Albanese government is also weighing the introduction of a domestic price floor to support new critical-minerals projects, reflecting concerns that oversupply from Chinese smelters and high local costs could undermine Australia’s ambitions to become a preferred supplier to Western allies.