Multi-metals processing and manufacturing business Nyrstar Australia has secured bi-partisan support for its investment in the construction of a new electrolysis plant at the company’s Zinc Works operations in Hobart.
The development of the new electrolysis plant will secure the future of 500 direct jobs in Tasmania and in total about 1600 direct jobs and more than 5000 indirect jobs across Nyrstar’s Australian operations in both Hobart and Port Pirie, the hometowns of Nyrstar Australia’s interlinked operations.
Nyrstar vice-president of Australian operations, Dale Webb, said a $50 million commitment from the Federal Labor Party demonstrated the important national contribution this project would make towards maximising the value from Australia’s mineral resources.
The Federal government had already pledged $50 million in project funding, and the Tasmanian government a further $20 million.
“This project will ensure that the next generation of employees in Tasmania will continue to play an important role in the manufacturing of zinc, a critical mineral for the transition to a low carbon world and essential to prolonging the useful life of steel in buildings,” Webb said.
“Together with Nyrstar Australia’s interlinked Port Pirie multi-metals refining facility, Hobart’s Zinc Works enables a greater recovery of minerals and metals that are important to global supply chains.”
The new electrolysis plant will incorporate the latest technology that will enable a step change in the performance of the Zinc Works, increasing the competitiveness of high-quality Australian zinc across international markets.
The project is estimated to cost about $400 million in total, taking approximately 28 months from commencement and employing 200 people at the peak of construction.
