Sun shines with plant expansion

MORE than 800 new construction jobs in Townsville could be confirmed by Christmas as Sun Metals hopes to push ahead with the expansion of its zinc refinery.

The $ 380 million project was the subject of a high- level meeting between refinery officials and Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk during a trade mission to Asia last week.

Ms Palaszczuk met with Sun Metals chief executive Yun Choi and chair of parent company Korea Zinc, ChangKeun Choi, in South Korea.

Speaking in Parliament yesterday Ms Palaszczuk indicated several state- level issues identified by Sun Metals could soon be resolved and an announcement on the expansion was imminent.

Mr Yun Choi said Sun Metals and Korea Zinc were “very happy” to host Ms Palaszczuk and discuss what steps the State Government could take to reduce red tape and allow the expansion to progress.

“We are working constructively with the State Government to address outstanding issues around port and road access and energy costs,” he said.

Mr Choi said the expansion of the refinery would go ahead “as soon as” those issues could be “satisfactorily” resolved.

“We expect over 820 jobs in construction and up to 100 additional jobs across refinery and logistic operations once the expansion is complete, which will be great news for the Townsville region,” he said.

In March this year Sun Metals confirmed it was work- ing to verify a business case for the expansion, including plant design, chemical engineering and infrastructure requirements.

In addition to the jobs created in construction and ongoing operations, the expansion is expected to increase economic activity at the Port of Townsville and for local suppliers and contractors.

Ms Palaszczuk said she talked about the “great investment” Sun Metals had made in Townsville since 1996.

“I also heard at length how important the Townsville site is for the further growth of Sun Metals worldwide,” she said.

Ms Palaszczuk said there was “likelihood” of a further announcement before the end of the year involving the expansion of the Sun Metals site.

“This is great news for Townsville, which has been through some really tough times,” she said.

Ms Palaszczuk said the Government would now work on ensuring the company’s plans could proceed.

Korea Zinc is one of the biggest zinc producers worldwide. Its Sun Metals operation in Townsville produces about 225,000 tons of zinc annually.

The zinc is used in products including steel pipe, steel wire, vehicle parts, anti- corrosion paint and electronics parts.

Earlier this year Sun Metals completed construction of a $ 200 million solar farm.