Molycop has announced it will close its steel-making operation in Waratah in Mayfield West, New South Wales.
The decision will result in 250 redundancies at the Waratah site and the Australian Workers’ Union (AWU) estimates that around half of those affected will be AWU members.
The AWU has described Molycop’s decision to cease production in steel-making and the bar mill at the Waratah site as a sad day for the Hunter region, and for the Australian steel industry.
AWU New South Wales Branch Secretary Tony Callinan said he and the union would be working with Molycop management to ensure all affected workers received their full entitlements and re-training opportunities.
“This announcement will come as a painful shock to workers, many of whom have worked at the site for their whole working lives.
Molycop’s Australian operations started with The Commonwealth Steel Company (Comsteel) which established its original facility on the Waratah site in 1917.
“Right now our immediate focus is on working with the company to minimise the pain. Expressions of interest for voluntary redundancies from across the entire site will hopefully minimise forced redundancies and there will be re-training opportunities for those who need to continue working.”
The company’s contribution to the mining industry includes Molycop Training — a collection of training modules that was developed through the company’s accumulated experience of working with some of the largest mining houses across the globe.
These private courses are focused on the mining functions of crushing, comminution and flotation.
