Media Release

FEDERAL Member for Kennedy Bob Katter has welcomed miner Xstrata’s bid to extend its copper operations near Cloncurry, with the timely creation of 100 local jobs and flow‐on production benefits from the North West Mineral Province to the coast.

Mr Katter congratulated Xtrata on its announcement yesterday of its AU$175m offer for Exco Resources’ E1 and Monakoff advanced copper projects, located near the existing Xstrata Ernest Henry open pit operations that are scheduled to finish later this year.

“This expansion would not only have immediate local benefits in my hometown of Cloncurry, but also flow‐on production benefits for the wider region from Mt Isa to Townsville,” said Mr Katter.

“While the 100 full time jobs expected to be created in the development and operation of E1 and Monakoff is great news for the existing open pit workforce at Ernest Henry, which is being transformed into a major underground operation, the expansion would also provide more copper concentrate for Mount Isa's smelting operations, which then go on to supply the Townsville refinery."

Mr Katter said the enormous value to both the regional and national economy of the world‐class North West Mineral Province highlighted the importance of connecting the region to the national electricity grid – as indicated by Legend International Holdings during its recent announcement about the approval of an $800m, 60‐year phosphate project north of Mt Isa that is estimated to create 1300 jobs.

“Nine out of ten mining prospects fails – which means that the tenth has to be extremely profitable – and access to a reliable and affordable source of power can be the difference between the scratching or success of projects that are critical to the survival and development of our towns,” said Mr Katter.