8 October 2025
Nyrstar’s Port Pirie multi-metals facility will this week commence a scheduled $80 million investment program to improve efficiency and maintain the long-term competitiveness of one of Australia’s most significant metals processing assets.
The 50-day program – backed by a $135 million package between the Australian, South Australian and Tasmanian Governments – will see 350 subcontractors engaged from 90 suppliers, generating substantial local economic activity and strengthening the supply chain for strategic and critical metals production.
The major works include a re-line of the Top Submerged Lance (TSL) furnace, Copper Dross Furnace rebuild, and the construction of an improved enclosure for the Blast Furnace. Together with upgrades to the Acid Plant, fume handling systems, wastewater treatment and refinery flues, these projects represent a coordinated investment in the future of the Port Pirie site.
These works deliver tangible benefits across the following areas:
- Strategic role for Australia: This work safeguards Port Pirie’s critical role in producing and supplying its existing suite of strategic metals while providing greater flexibility to process critical metals including antimony and bismuth, needed for global industries such as renewable energy, electronics and defence, and strengthening Australia’s role in secure international supply chains.
- Operational performance and reliability: The TSL re-line, Copper Dross Furnace rebuild, and off-gas system repairs will restore full smelting capacity for lead and associated strategic metals such as copper, silver and gold, while supporting readiness for new critical mineral feedstocks.
- Environmental compliance: Improvements in fume handling, acid plant performance and wastewater treatment will enhance emissions control and ensure compliance with strict environmental standards, reinforcing the facility’s licence to operate and alignment with international ESG expectations.
The works form part of broader support arrangements with the Australian, South Australian and Tasmanian Governments in August, designed to secure ongoing operations while Nyrstar advances engineering planning for a significant rebuild of its Australian smelters and fast-tracks feasibility studies into new critical metals production.
Concurrently Nyrstar is progressing work to establish an Antimony Pilot Plant at Port Pirie with antimony metal on track to be produced in the first half of 2026. Nyrstar is also exploring the potential to produce bismuth and tellurium at the facility and germanium and indium at the Hobart Zinc Works.
Nyrstar contributes around $1.7 billion to Australia’s economy each year and directly employs 1,400 Australians, supporting a further 6,600 indirect jobs.
- You can find more information about the South Australian Government support for the transformation of Port Pirie's metal processing operations on the Port Pirie transformation web page
Quotes attributable to Nyrstar Australia Chief Executive Matt Howel
This $80 million investment is about improving the efficiency and competitiveness of our Port Pirie operations while underpinning our critical metals production that Australia, the US and other global partners need.
Backed by the support of the South Australian and Federal Governments, we are creating new opportunities at Port Pirie for economic growth, supply chain resilience and sovereign capability in the production of strategic metals vital for technology, energy transition and defence.
