After decades of pleas, fallen miners from a historic mine will be memorialised

After nearly 30 years of advocacy, a multimillion-dollar memorial will be built in outback Queensland to honor 151 workers who died at the historic Mount Isa Mines. The $4.7 million Mount Isa Miners Memorial will be a joint project funded by the state government, the mine's current owner Glencore, and the Mount Isa City Council.

Set to be erected at Frank Aston Hill, overlooking the Mount Isa Mines, the landmark is expected to be completed by late 2027. Designs for the memorial were drafted in 2023, with the Mount Isa City Council covering the costs. Former Mount Isa resident Steve Trevor, whose brother Tony died in a mining accident in 1995, expressed his long wait for a formal memorial site.

"The memorial will bring recognition of a life lost. What they gave to their community is the ultimate sacrifice," Trevor said. "They didn't come home. There's only a few people who can understand what that feels like." He added that his brother's death remains a haunting memory for himself and his family.

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The memorial will bring recognition of a life lost. What they gave to their community is the ultimate sacrifice. They didn't come home. There's only a few people who can understand what that feels like.

Former local John Moran, who first called for a memorial in 1998, described it as a historic day for Mount Isa. "Those 151 workers deserve to be remembered, but more importantly they deserve to be memorialized," Moran stated. The Mount Isa Mines underground copper mine officially ceased operations last year.

Mount Isa Mayor Peta MacRae expressed pride that the long-awaited memorial is becoming a reality, with the council contributing $700,000 towards its construction. The Queensland government will inject $2 million into the project through repurposed funds from the Mount Isa Transition Fund.

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Those 151 workers deserve to be remembered, but more importantly they deserve to be memorialised.