Tara Mines to reopen after workers vote to accept deal

Reuters

Tara Mines will reopen from next month after workers voted to accept a deal brokered through the Workplace Relations Commission.

Boliden will restart production at its zinc mine in Co Meath in the third quarter after being closed for almost one year, the Swedish mining group said on Friday.

Tara will gradually increase production to reach full capacity from January 2025, Boliden said.

The mine was suspended since last June after prices of the galvanising metal hit a three-year low.

It is Europe's largest zinc mine and produced more than 300,000 metric tons of zinc concentrates a year. Tara's suspension, together with disruptions at major Australian mines, caused a tighter supply of zinc concentrates.

"An agreement has been reached between worker's unions and local management which enables the process of reopening the mine at Tara on a more financially sustainable basis," Boliden said in a statement.

The deal includes staff cuts. It is envisaged there will be about 160 jobs losses on top of the roughly 50 people who have left the company since the mine was closed on a temporary basis last summer.

There will also be substantial changes to rostering and other work practices as well as new arrangements for outsourcing.

Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment Peter Burke welcomed the decision by a majority of the company’s workers to accept the deal.

“The closure of the mine since July last year has had a significant impact on workers and their families, and on the wider community in the region,” he said in a statement. “I want to commend all parties for the efforts that they have made to ensure a positive outcome in difficult circumstances. Government will ensure that all available supports are put in place for workers that choose to take voluntary redundancy, including supports for retraining and job search assistance.

“Tara Mines is a major employer operating in an important sector and the Government is committed to exploring the possibility of strategic supports to incentivise longer term investment by Boliden in Tara Mines.”

Boliden said it will book a €30 million restructuring cost for the cuts and other organisational changes in the second quarter.

The total hit to results in the quarter, including previously announced costs for care and maintenance, will be €43 million.

Zinc prices gained 11 per cent so far this year to improve profitability of zinc operations and motivated restarts of mothballed projects.

Glencore announced a ramp-up in its Nordenham smelter of Germany and Nyrstar also planned to restart its Budel smelter in the Netherlands.

Tara's restart, alongside expansion of Boliden's Odda smelter in Norway, is set to increase European zinc supply.