Last week representatives from Anglo American’s Callide mine attended the 12th annual Banana Shire Industry Summit where they spoke to attendees and community members about the future Boundary Hill South project.
With the current operation at Boundary Hill expected to exhaust coal reserves by 2016, the Boundary Hill South mining lease will extend the life of Callide mine and provide continued employment for more than 250 local people who work at Boundary Hill.
Callide mine General Manager Dave Palmer said some changes had been made to the Boundary Hill mining lease to address issues raised during earlier engagement about the project.
“We have reduced the mining lease footprint to preserve cultural heritage and reduce environmental pressures on flora and fauna,” Mr Palmer said.
The changes will also preserve the Callide timber reserve and simplify the Inverness Road realignment while still accommodating mine infrastructure within the reduced mining area.
Mr Palmer said the Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for Callide mine’s Boundary Hill South project was currently under development and was expected to be submitted to the Queensland Department of Heritage Protection in early November. He said public consultation would begin soon after.
“We understand the release of the Boundary Hill South EIS has been widely anticipated by the local community and are pleased to be in the final stages before submission,” Mr Palmer said.
“In the weeks ahead Callide mine’s Stakeholder Engagement Officer, Phillip Casey, will continue to talk to affected neighbours and explain the changes we have made to the mining lease.
“We are looking forward to meeting with the community to talk more about the future Boundary Hill South operation,” he said.
Mr Palmer said Boundary Hill South would deliver many benefits to the Biloela community as it would secure local jobs and ensure Anglo American continues to support local business through the $20 million spent on procurement in the Banana Shire each year.
“We will also continue to deliver our annual social investment and donations program for Biloela, through which we support local schools, sporting groups and community associations,” he said.
For members of the public who would like to discuss the changes to the mining lease, please contact Phillip Casey on 0437 087 724.
ENDS
For media inquiries, please contact Metallurgical Coal Corporate Affairs (Australia):
Jacqui Strambi: +61 439 774 526
Caption for supplied photograph:
Last week Callide mine representatives spoke to community members about the Boundary Hill South project at the 12th annual Banana Shire Industry Summit.
Notes to editors:
Anglo American is one of the world’s largest mining companies, is headquartered in the UK and listed on the London and Johannesburg stock exchanges. Our portfolio of mining businesses meets our customers’ changing needs and spans bulk commodities – iron ore and manganese, metallurgical coal and thermal coal; base metals and minerals – copper, nickel, niobium and phosphates; and precious metals and minerals – in which we are a global leader in both platinum and diamonds. At Anglo American, we are committed to working together with our stakeholders – our investors, our partners and our employees – to create sustainable value that makes a real difference, while upholding the highest standards of safety and responsibility across all our businesses and geographies. The company’s mining operations, pipeline of growth projects and exploration activities span southern Africa, South America, Australia, North America, Asia and Europe.
www.angloamerican.com.au