Preparations in full swing for the multimillion-dollar copper smelter rebrick at Mount Isa Mines

Mount Isa Mines is preparing for the delivery of almost 60 thousand refractory bricks as part of the planned multimillion-dollar rebrick of the copper smelter.

The total shipment weighing 974 tonnes is scheduled to depart Europe soon and arrive in Australia in March.

Specially manufactured in Austria, the refractory bricks include 16,530 for the ISASMELT ™ furnace, 24,600 for a rotary holding furnace and 16,050 for an anode furnace in the smelter. A total of 57,180 bricks.

They will replace the existing bricks inside the furnaces which wear over time because of the hot temperatures of up to 1,200 degrees Celsius.

The rebrick is scheduled to run for 35 days from the middle of May. Planning for the large-scale project began in earnest in January last year, with long ordering lead times, developing the rebrick team and refining the plan of works.

The smelter workforce will more than double to about 580 personnel to complete the project.

Copper Smelter Rebrick Superintendent, Jaap Verhoek, says plans are in progress to bring in an additional 350 contractors to assist our existing workforce.

“This is a huge task, in ensuring we bring in the right people with the critical skills and knowledge, and that they are also correctly onboarded.”

The contractors will include specialist refractory brick layers who will perform their work under strict quality supervision from engineers and supervisors.

“There’ll be about 80 brick layers and another 270 personnel in maintenance roles such riggers, fitters, boilermakers, electricians, spotters and crane operators,” Jaap says.

Repairs are also planned for the landmark candy-striped copper smelter stack which was constructed in 1959, including its big centrifugal fan.

Jaap, who was also involved in the 2010 rebrick as a contractor, says he’s enormously proud of leading the team that is delivering such a significant project for North Queensland.

“The copper smelter provides significant employment in the region, both directly and indirectly. The product from the smelter also feeds Glencore’s Copper Refinery in Townsville which also employs more than 200 people.”

He says with the works just a few months away the project is already prepped for success.

“The team established for the rebrick consists of people who either have been involved in these before, or have significant experience in shutdown or project works. Without them and the collaboration of the extended Copper Smelter team, we would not be as well prepared as we are.”

Mount Is Mines received funding assistance from the Queensland Government in 2020 to help continue the operation of the smelter into the future.

The importance of the copper smelter

The smelter plays an important role in adding value to our copper production process in Australia.

It converts copper concentrate into copper anode through a complex process involving intense heat and multiple oxidising phases. This process produces high quality copper anode by separating other elements like slag and gases.

These anodes are then transported to our copper refinery in Townsville where an electrolytic refining process converts them into copper cathode that we export to customers around the world.