Swiss mining giant Glencore had threatened to shut down its Mount Isa copper smelter and Townsville copper refinery in Queensland due to running costs.
But Industry Minister Tim Ayres on Wednesday is expected to announce a bailout to save the facilities, avoiding a "catastrophic" shutdown.
More than 600 direct jobs and a further 500 at the nearby Phosphate Hill facility are set to be protected by the taxpayer-funded cash injection.
Mr Ayres is expected to confirm the deal when he flies out to Mount Isa for an event in the morning, while the Queensland government will also contribute to the rescue effort.
Glencore closed its underground copper mine at Mount Isa, with a loss of almost 500 direct jobs.
It also warned it was preparing to mothball the nearby copper smelter and its Townsville copper refinery into care and maintenance until market conditions improved.
Glencore said the assets were losing money and forecast a $2.2 billion loss over the next seven years.
Federal MP Bob Katter said the closure of Glencore's copper operations and the simultaneous shutdown of the Phosphate Hill facility in the west would be "catastrophic".
"We've got our industries hanging by a thread, bananas, copper, phosphate, they're all on the scaffold," he said.
"If we lose them, we lose Mount Isa ... that's a big piece of Australia's economic might."
The Mount Isa smelter is one of Australia's largest industrial facilities and energy users, providing about half of the nation's copper smelting capacity.
Treasurer Jim Chalmers recently told parliament there had been a significant effort into securing a deal for Glencore.
"The government's approach is to do what we responsibly can to ensure that Australia is an export powerhouse for decades to come," he said.
"The Mount Isa copper smelter is a nationally significant asset, a significant facility for regional Queensland's industrial capability and that has driven our efforts right throughout this process.
"We are doing whatever we responsibly can to get a good outcome for the workers, families, communities and businesses."
Rescue packages have already been organised for the Whyalla steelworks in South Australia and Nyrstar's lead smelters in South Australia and Tasmania as part of the government's Future Made in Australia push.
The federal opposition said any effort to keep the copper operations open would be good news for the local community.
"This is welcome news but it should never have taken this long," resources spokeswoman Susan McDonald said.
"For months, smelter and refinery workers in Mount Isa and Townsville - plus support industries - have lived under a cloud of uncertainty while the federal government dragged its feet."
21°C