The McArthur River zinc mine, a zinc, lead and silver mine about 70 km south-west of Borroloola, is operated by McArthur River Mining (MRM), which is wholly owned by the Swiss mining company Xstrata.
Xstrata Copper Canada currently operates the Horne smelter.
On 28 May 2012 violent repression of local residents by the police in the province of Espinar, Cuzco, Peru, caused the deaths of two civilians.
The Xstrata coal contract is operated by XRN class locomotives that are owned by the customer.
The town itself was founded by Noranda (now part of Xstrata) in the early 1950s to support the company's Geco copper mine.
The town has grown since then from a farming community into a business destination where companies such as Anglo American, BHP Billiton, Evraz, Eskom, Exxaro, Joy, Komatsu, the Renova Group, SAB Miller, SAMANCOR, Shanduka Beverages, Xstrata and Zenith Inc amongst many others have found substantial returns on their investments.