Copper Smelter opens its doors to family for a day

In September, more than 330 of our extended Copper Smelter families were welcomed onsite to take a look around the Copper Smelter operations and to see where their mum, dad, son, daughter, brother, sister or grandparent go each day when they tag in for their shift at work.

It was a hive of activity with information displays explaining the smelting process, demonstrations of rope techniques from our Mine Rescue team, plus some of the specialised equipment, children’s games, a walking tour of the smelter and Mines Power Station, and a bus tour of the broader lease.

During the tour of the smelter, visitors witnessed the spectacular site of molten metal being poured into casts to form copper anodes, experiencing first-hand the crucial role their family members play in turning our copper concentrate into 99.7% copper anode. 

Copper anodes are transported to our copper refinery in Townsville where they are further refined to 99.995% pure copper cathode. A copper anode and copper cathode were on display to demonstrate the difference between the two and our knowledgeable employees were on hand to answer any questions.

As a special treat, some of our tiniest family members got to wear their very own high-vis work shirts and hard hats.

Mark Peterson, Copper Smelter Manager says providing an insight for families into the Copper Smelter working environment is important for our employees and their families. 

“It was rewarding to see such a large crowd show an interest in our operation and hopefully we’ve inspired some future Tradespeople, Engineers, Operators and Metallurgists,” says Mark.