Boolaroo Bulletin Centenary Issue

In 1897 Cockle Creek was a virgin piece of land but a site that was to become of major industrial significance to the Hunter Region. The land was selected by the then Sulphide Corporation for the construction of a smelter based on the ideas of a young electrical engineer named Edgar Ashcroft. The site had a good supply of fresh water and salt water, had rail access, was near port and harbour facilities, was near to coal deposits and in those days was a fairly isolated spot.

Ashcroft's design was for an electrolytic zinc smelter with zinc ores to be purchased from the Central Mine at Broken Hill. More than 800 men are reported to have worked on building the Hunter Region's first major heavy industry but only a few months after its opening in March 1897 it was decided that Ashcroft's new concept was not economically viable and the smelter converted to an orthodox lead smelter.

In the early 1900's the first of five zinc distillation plants were installed to produce what is believed to be the first zinc produced in commercial quantities in the Southern Hemisphere. Zinc production continued until 1908 but the plant was closed due to distillation being less favourable than selling metal in concentrates.

State-of-the-art sintering machines were installed in 1912, a sulphuric acid and superphosphate plant was commissioned in 1913 followed by a Mond Gas producer plant to produce coal gas for fuel, fuel oil and tar. In 1917 a full scale lead refinery was constructed as was a works canteen, the first of its type on a NSW industrial plant.

During World War 1 the corporation was one of the largest industrial employers in NSW to record its highest lead production in 1915-16.

Post war years saw a change in fortunes and by 1922 the economic outlook for smelting companies was poor. The smelting section of the works was closed in May that year but this resulted in an expansion of sulphuric acid, superphosphate and mixed fertilizer plants.

During the 1920s zinc concentrates were roasted on the site and shipped to the Electrolytic Zinc Company in Hobart, cement production began and fertilizer sales were pooled with Australian Fertilizers in an operation that continued until the late 1960s to gain maximum profits.

The 1930s was a decade of trepidation because of the Great Depression but towards the end of the period demand for superphosphates began to grow and acid production saw the installation of new equipment. The Cockle Creek plant was declared a "protected industry" during the early 1940s to maintain its workforce and production and in 1947 the corporation gained permission to mine coal on its own land because of unrest in the valley's coal mines.

The now equivalent of $6 million was invested in 1949 to double sulphuric acid production while planning was underway to return to zinc production.

The 1950s started with the Sulphide Corporation Ltd going into voluntary liquidation but Sulphide Corporation Pty Ltd, a wholly owned subsidiary of Consolidated Zinc Corporation Ltd, took over the site and introduced a raft of initiatives such as suggestion schemes, on-the-job training, discussion forums and worker incentives.

It was during this decade that environment concerns began to surface and a major tree planting exercise was undertaken on Munibung Hill. In 1957 a capital injection of $16 million was announced to re-establish zinc smelting and expand the sulphuric and superphosphate plants.

The 1960s saw the plant enter a new era of industrial progress with the commissioning of a zinc-lead smelter to increase Australia's overall zinc-lead capacity by 40%. After 65 years of varied operations in the chemical and metallurgical industries the corporation had turned full circle to become an industrial showpiece.

Much happened during the 1960s with the Clean Air Act being legislated, Conzinc Riotinto taking a 75% control, 50 years of acid and fertilizer production being celebrated and Greenleaf Fertilizers being established to take on the increasing demand for fertilizer. There was also a 24 hour canteen, centralised changerooms and medical centre, university scholarships, the building of a refinery for new products and in 1969 after 56 years of superphosphate production the company's holding in Greenleaf Fertilizers was sold to Australian Fertilizers Ltd.

The 1970s saw an increasing social and environmental awareness and much capital was invested in the plant to enhance antipollution measures. The core was a $250,000 stack and scrubber system to increase efficiency of gas cleaning and dust collection. Systematic noise reduction, regular monitoring of effluents and emissions took place as cost cutting measures were introduced in the later part of the decade following plummeting demand for zinc.

The 1980s started in similar fashion to the end of the previous decade and plans for a $150 million electrolytic zinc smelter were withdrawn. In 1985 the company invested $3 million on improved technology to increase zinc output, the procedure reinforcing the corporation's reputation as a leader in ISF technology.

In 1988 word came that North Broken Hill Holdings Ltd and CRA Ltd had agreed to merge lead and zinc assets which resulted in a $50 million capital investment for the Sulphide works which were renamed Pasminco Metals-Sulphide Pty Ltd. Environmental control measures saw $12 million being expended with most of the other funds earmarked for an upgrade of the plant.

In the early 1990s the management addressed environmental and community concern about soil and dust contamination in the community, and elevated children's blood lead levels. A buffer zone was established on the smelter's southern boundary, greater cooperation with the community on health and environnent issues was implemented and an Environmental Impact Statement followed by a Commission of Inquiry resulted in a set of operating conditions among the most stringent in the world. Nine envirorunental management strategies have been introduced to complement increased capacity of 90,000 tonnes of zinc per annum as the site looks back on more than 100 years of operation and heads into the new millennium.