A commercial financing agreement with the new owner of the Port Pirie Smelters is a wonderful outcome for the people of Port Pirie and has been welcomed by Member for Frome Geoff Brock MP.

The agreement between the State Government and the new owners of the Smelter’s Trafigura Group Pte Ltd will secure compulsory repayment of remaining monies owed under a $291.125 million taxpayer-guaranteed loan which was brokered by Mr Brock in 2014 to guarantee the future of the plant.

“Trafigura is one of the world’s leading global commodity trading companies and it is a positive step forward for the Port Pirie community where the smelters is the major employer,” Mr Brock said.

“In 2014 we were able to secure $291m for the transformation of the old plant to the latest environmentally friendly technology but soon after the new plant was fully commissioned Nyrstar encountered some financial difficulties resulting in an uncertain future.

“The announcement that Trafigura, who were a 24% shareholder of Nyrstar, are now the majority shareholder at 98% and overseeing all Nyrstar international operations is a welcome one as it brings stability to the operations,” Mr Brock said.

“I feel this is now the icing on the cake and guarantees the future of the plant for many more generations to come – it is going to be a great asset for our community, with ever increasing opportunities for our economy of Port Pirie and surrounding regions.”

Mr Brock said the plant would dramatically reduce the emissions and would assist with the health and wellbeing of the community.

“I would like to pay tribute to the workers who have persevered and travelled along the journey – it’s been great to have been an integral part of the excellent outcome we see today.

“We now have a chance to progress to the next stage, which is treating E-Waste, which currently cannot be processed in Australia – complementing the ever-increasing economic opportunities which are happening in the renewables sector in our region.”