Rain shuts Australian copper, fertilizer rail line

Spanish Market: Fertilizers, Metals
11/02/25

Torrential rains have shut Australia's Mount Isa rail line, which links phosphate and copper mines to the Port of Townsville in Queensland, with no reopening timeline in place.

"The North Coast and Mount Isa rail lines have suffered severe damage with approximately 177 defects found so far," rail operator Queensland Rail (QR) said on 10 February. But the company has not yet examined parts of the line because of safety concerns, QR told Argus, preventing it from coming up with a reopening plan.

Mining firm Glencore's Mount Isa copper and Australian manufacturer Incitec Pivot's Phosphate Hill fertilizer mines use the line to move commodities from production sites to the Port of Townsville, for export or distribution to other parts of Australia. Australian mining firm Centrex also uses the line to ship phosphate rock from its Ardmore phosphate project.

Wet weather forced the Port of Abbot Point, located just south of Townsville, to close from 31 January to 5 February. The Port of Townsville remained open throughout that period, despite large parts of the city flooding.

Incitec Pivot's Phosphate Hill plant is also currently facing non-weather-related challenges. The company lowered the mine's forecast production by 7pc to 740,000-800,000t for the 2025 financial year to 30 June, because of gas supply challenges.

Argus' MAP/DAP fob Townsville price was last assessed at $620-640/t on 6 February.

By Avinash Govind and Tom Woodlock

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14/03/25

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14/03/25

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