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Port Kembla Copper (PKC) announces it has entered into a contract to sell its former smelter site at Military Road, Port Kembla, to the Port Kembla Group Pty Ltd (PKG).

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An Australian corporate entity with experience in property development, PKG will take ownership of the site in early 2026 when the sale is expected to complete.  The site was put up for sale in August 2024 in an international campaign.

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PKG’s director John Chen said: “The Port Kembla Copper Site represents an amazing opportunity to revitalise and enhance a strategic location on NSW's coastal logistic infrastructure. The site is going through an extensive exercise of place making to determine the future composition to enhance local community offerings and employment while enhancing the sustainable and economic robustness of the region. An experienced team has been engaged to provide a once in a decade opportunity to revitalise the former copper site. Lead by Birch Place and designed by Place Studio, the resulting precinct will service the growing infrastructure and supply needs of a growing community.”

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At 21.77 hectares, the site is one of Port Kembla’s largest industrial development sites, and its sale follows 20 years of investigation, remediation and demolition works at the property by PKC, which operated the smelter from 2000 to 2003.  Its closure ended nearly 100 years of copper smelting activity at the Military Road site, predominantly undertaken by other companies.

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PKC executive advisor Ian Wilson said that the sale of the site presented “an excellent outcome for the local community, given it opens up opportunities for commercial and or industrial redevelopment and employment at the site”.

“While PKC operated the smelter for only three of a total of approximately 100 years operation, it has decided to carry out investigation and remediation of contamination at the site and surrounding residential areas on a voluntary basis,” he explained. “Our extensive work has made the site suitable for future commercial or industrial uses, and we are pleased we were able to find an appropriate purchaser in a timely manner.”

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Mr. Wilson said proceeds from the sale will also help fund PKC’s ongoing off-site investigation and remediation program in residential areas of Port Kembla which may have been contaminated from historical smelter operations.

The sale ends a 28-year association of PKC with the property.