Anglo American showed its support for regional communities this week when Broncos prop Ben Hannant and former Brisbane Broncos speed sensation Mick Hancock came to Biloela and Moura to run skills clinics for more than 250 local school students as part of the Anglo American Broncos 2011/2012 Regional Tour Program.
This was the third Broncos visit to Anglo American communities in four weeks, with players also recently spending time in Moranbah and Middlemount.
The Banana Shire tour kicked off on Wednesday with a trip to Biloela State High School, followed by a skills clinic attended by more than 120 students from Biloela Primary, Redeemer Lutheran Primary, Thangool, Goovigen and St Joseph's Catholic Primary schools.
Anglo American’s Dawson mine General Manager, Brett Thompson, said Anglo American was thrilled to bring the key Broncos players to town to meet the locals and pass on some skills.
“We are proud to support our local schools’ health and physical education curriculum by bringing the Broncos to town to meet the local kids,” Mr Thompson said.
Already an active supporter of regional rugby league, Anglo American sponsored the Biloela Panthers Rugby League Club with a $5500 donation earlier this year, and the local talent got to meet the Broncos players and put their skills to the test in an afternoon session held at the Rainbow Street sporting grounds.
On Thursday the players travelled to Dawson mine, where they toured the operation and workshop where they got up close and personal with one of Dawson’s fleet of CAT 797B haul trucks and met with employees before stopping into Moura High School as special guests for the year 12 graduating ceremony.
A gala clinic was then held at Moura State Primary school for more than 100 students from Moura and Theodore.
“It was great to see the look on the kids’ faces when meeting some of their football heros,” Mr Thompson said.
“It was a nice way to follow up after our visit to the schools last year with Jamie Whincup and his V8 Supercar.”
“The sponsorship of the Broncos ticks all the boxes for us as we promote active, healthy lifestyles for our local students while promoting employment and training opportunities with Anglo American,” Mr Thompson said.
“We have a bright future in Queensland and by partnering with a well-known and respected Queensland team we can really bring that future into the limelight.”
Contact:
Metallurgical Coal External Affairs:
Jacqui Strambi: 0439 774 526
Notes to editors:
Anglo American plc is one of the world’s largest mining companies, is headquartered in the UK and listed on the London and Johannesburg stock exchanges. Its portfolio of mining businesses spans precious metals and minerals – in which it is a global leader in both platinum and diamonds; base metals – copper and nickel; and bulk commodities – iron ore, metallurgical coal and thermal coal. Anglo American is committed to the highest standards of safety and responsibility across all its businesses and geographies and to making a sustainable difference in the development of the communities around its operations. The company’s mining operations and extensive pipeline of growth projects are located in southern Africa, South America,Australia, North America and Asia.
www.angloamerican.com