A $300 million investment by Korea Zinc Company will fund a major expansion of the Sun Metals Zinc Refinery just outside of Townsville in Queensland – increasing zinc production and creating hundreds of new jobs for the region.
Korea Zinc is set to make the investment through its Australian subsidiary, Sun Metals Corporation (SMC), which operates the Sun Metals Zinc Refinery and a nearby photovoltaic 125-megawatt solar farm which opened in August this year.
Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk said the expansion is expected to support an estimated 350 jobs during construction and roughly 100 additional permanent refinery and logistic workers once operational.
“Zinc production will increase from around 220,000 to 270,000 tonnes per year which is great news for North Queensland and for Sun Metals Corporation,” she stated.
SMC CEO, Yun Choi thanked the Premier and the State Government for their involvement in key issues which paved the way for the refinery’s expansion to proceed.
“This announcement is great news for Townsville and the greater region as we expect the expansion will have a significant impact to the regional economy,” Mr Choi said.
Sun Metals’ refinery expansion is scheduled to commence immediately and is forecast to be completed by the first half of 2021.
More information on the Sun Metals Zinc Refinery can be found here.