Anglo American's Callide mine has joined with the Banana Shire Council to arrange the in-kind transportation of a water tank from Brisbane to the doorstep of St Joseph's Pre-Prep Centre.
Despite the recent rainfall, more than 80 per cent of Queensland was drought-declared in the first quarter of 2014 and the water tank will provide the pre-prep centre with a much needed water storage device for the future.
The benefits will be shared with the current 44 enrolled students and all future students that will use the centre facilities.
Banana Shire Councillor Warren Middleton said this successful logistics exercise provided a fantastic example of the mining industry stepping up to support the local community.
"While I'm sure the transportation of the water tank from Brisbane seemed like a small medial task for Anglo American, this kind gesture to sponsor the transportation will make the world of difference to the students, teachers and parents who use this facility," Cr Middleton said.
"It was very pleasing to see how willing the team at Callide was to step in, help us out and find a solution when we were in a bind and unable to come up with the fee to arrange delivery," he said.
Callide mine Stakeholder Engagement Officer Phill Casey said Callide mine was proud to help.
"It was really humbling to partner with the Banana Shire Council on this little project for some of our little locals and assist with the transportation and delivery of the water tank from Brisbane to the St Joseph's Pre-Prep Centre in Biloela," Phill said.
Callide mine General Manager, Dave Palmer, said after years of training, Anglo American was more than equipped with the expertise needed to arrange the transportation on the water tank.
"When you think about it, a big part of our business is using equipment to transport material across long distances, so we certainly thought we were up to the challenge to arrange delivery of the new water tank to the prep centre," Mr Palmer said.
"Our operation moves about 85 million cubic metres of material each year which is enough to fill Wembley Stadium in London 75 times or once every five days.
"We also transport over $130 million worth of materials each year from local, regional and interstate suppliers to Callide Mine to support our operation, so this seemed like something that was well within our capabilities.
"Despite the challenging economic conditions our industry is facing it is really rewarding to find opportunities to share the benefits of mining with our community," he said.
L-R Cr Warren Middleton, Lainee Vanden Bergh, Caitlin Palmer, Dave Palmer; General Manager Callide Mine