Mining giant Xstrata said that it has worked hard to ensure no jobs are lost from its copper division in Mount Isa in north west Queensland during the economic downturn.

Xstrata said that thousands of jobs in the state's mining sector have been lost since late last year, but it has focused on reducing operating costs and delaying capital projects so it can maintain its workforce.

Mr Steve de Kruijff a spokesman of Xstrata said that the medium and longer term looks better. He said that "You'll see that from the Xstrata copper perspective there has been no lay offs ... you would have seen a small amount of contractors or a reduction in contractors ... but in terms of our residential, 'live in Mount Isa' workforce, we've been able to maintain our workforce.”

Mr Kruijff added that "So we're quite proud of that and we hope to be able to continue that."

(Sourced from ABC online)