November 4, 2022
The small town community of Charters Towers has been left reeling after more than 150 jobs were lost overnight following the recent shut down of Thalanga Mine, local State Member for Traeger Robbie Katter has said.
Mr Katter said he had been alarmed to learn that Cromarty Resources’ Thalanga Mine went into administration last week, with meetings held on Monday with FTI Consulting administrators and staff in relation to the news.
Nicholas Lhotka, a now-previous processing and maintenance manager at the mine, is acting as the representative for the employees.
“There was no direct correspondence from management regarding the meeting on Monday,” Mr Lhotka said.
“It was a case of tell your mates there’s a meeting on.
“Following the meeting, if you didn’t or were unable to attend you found out via word of mouth that you’d lost your job.
“It’s a massive blow for us employees, as far as we are aware this is a permanent loss of job out there.
“Management had only recently been out to two pre-starts, advising both crews that there was enough money in the employee bank account to pay wages until July 2023.
“We haven’t been told much aside from that we won’t be receiving any redundancies yet, and that they’re not sure how much money will be left at the end to give us.
“There were 178 employees on their books last month, both on site contractors and employees of Cromarty, today there’s 16 left.”
Mr Katter said he understood the closure was a flow-on affect from a fall of ground “collapse” within the mine back in August.
“Our main concern at the moment is for the workers and the direct impact this situation may cause to the local Charters Towers economy,” he said.
“Going forward now, there’s obviously concerns regarding the liquidation process.
“I know my father, the Federal Member for Kennedy, Bob Katter on Monday attended the meeting at Thalanga Mina and made direct comment to the FTI Consulting administrators that he would be keeping an eye on them.
“We at the KAP want to encourage people, particularly those employees who have been directly affected, to reach out to our offices if they feel they are being disenfranchised from the process or are not receiving adequate help from the receiver managers.
“The costs of general living now are constantly increasing, and I am extremely understanding of the pressures a job loss such as this can place on individuals and families.”
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20221103 - RK media release - Heartbreak as mining jobs lost in Charters Towers