On Friday 19 September the Chief Executive of global miner Anglo American, Mr Mark Cutifani, visited Drayton mine to personally meet with the 500 employees who are waiting on the outcome of the Planning Assessment Commission review of the Drayton South project.
The trip to Muswellbrook formed part of Mr Cutifani’s second visit to Australia as CEO, and follows last night’s guest lecture he gave on safety at the University of New South Wales in Sydney.
Mr Cutifani said he was pleased to spend some time looking at the Drayton operation, visiting the Drayton South project site, but most importantly, getting to know some of the people who work at Drayton whose livelihoods are dependent on Drayton South getting the go ahead.
“This is my first visit to Drayton mine since becoming Chief Executive of Anglo American and I am very pleased to have the opportunity to meet our employees, who are currently living in limbo as a result of a prolonged planning process for a project that simply extends the life of an existing operation,” Mr Cutifani said.
“Drayton South is not just an important project for Anglo American in Australia, but also a critical project for the New South Wales economy and the Hunter Valley community.
“The reality is the Hunter Valley needs mining, we need the thoroughbred industry, we need agriculture, we need a diverse economy to be able to create opportunities for our kids,” he said.
“If you’ve got one industry saying we can’t live with the other, the losers will be the children of the community and none of us can afford that.
“Since I was last in Australia, we have been through the first PAC review of the project which was obviously a disappointing blow to our employees.
“We have submitted a retracted mine plan with a smaller area, with mining activities remaining behind the natural landscape and the mine life reduced to only 20 years instead of the previous proposal of 27 years.
“We’ve also made further compromises to reduce total tonnes from 119 million to 97 million over the mine life.
“Pleasingly, the New South Government has declared that the project is in the public interest.
“Now it is up to the Planning Assessment Commission. Our Drayton mine has invested heavily in New South Wales over the past 30 years and I hope our positive contribution in NSW continues into the future.
“On behalf of our employees I have met today and for the local suppliers who have supported us, we strongly urge the PAC, like the NSW Government, to see the merits of this project and agree Drayton South must go ahead for towns like Muswellbrook to survive,” Mr Cutifani said.
ENDS
Media contact: Jacqui Strambi: 0439 774 526
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