WDJV recognised by AEMEE

18/09/2019

The Waanyi Downer Joint Venture (WDJV) was recently awarded the National Joint Venture Business of the Year Award at the Aboriginal Enterprises in Mining, Energy and Exploration (AEMEE) awards night. The Award was presented in recognition of the WDJV, which was established four years ago in association with work undertaken for our customer, New Century Resources (NCR), at the Century Mine in Queensland.

The WDJV is a 50:50 equitable arrangement with the Waanyi People, the Traditional Custodians of the land on which the Century Mine is located.

The WDJV was originally established in anticipation of the closure of the Century Mine, but rolled into a care and maintenance contract once it became clear the mine was not going to close straight away. The WDJV recently signed a Mine Services Agreement with NCR to undertake in-situ mining activities once this phase of NCR’s operations commence.

For the Waanyi Traditional Custodians, the benefits of the WDJV include financial, employment and business benefits and opportunities, and most importantly, oversight and input into the healing of their land.

The scope of work undertaken by the WDJV extends beyond mining activities, with a significant community training program in place, focusing on the local communities of Normanton, Doomadgee, Burketown and Mornington Island.

Downer was also awarded runner-up in the National Resource Sector Business of the Year Award, which recognises Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander participation initiatives being undertaken across resources-related activities.

Sophie Gaunt, Downer Head of Community Affairs, said: “It was a great honour and very humbling to accept this award on behalf of the WDJV. A tremendous amount of work and collaboration has been going on behind the scenes for a long time to get the Joint Venture and associated community training program to where it is today. The Award is a testimony to the genuine passion and hard work of these people and to a great, supportive customer relationship.”

AEMEE is an organisation that promotes Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander involvement in the mining, energy and exploration sectors.  For further information visit www.aemee.org.au