Community

We are committed to building and maintaining genuine, long-term collaborative relationships with the community based on openness and integrity.

We seek to maximise direct and indirect opportunities for the local community, particularly the directly affected Traditional Owners, which will enable them to meet their own aspirations.

Local community consultation

The direct involvement of Traditional Owners and the community is vital to the project's future success.

We have a presence in Aurukun and spend time talking with, and listening to, many members of the Aurukun community, including Traditional Owners.

We are committed to further develop and strengthen our relationship with the Aurukun community for the longer term.

Our community consultation process is designed to:

• be inclusive, particularly of traditionally disadvantaged groups
• be respectful of traditional decision-making mechanisms in the community
• recognise the traditional rights of Indigenous communities
• be transparent and responsive
• be accessible and cognisant of the local context.

Welcome to Country

We appreciate the welcome and support we have received during our work in Aurukun since we first became involved with the project.

Our project is built on demonstrating respect for the knowledge, experience and capabilities of the community.

As a small part of this approach, it is expected, and we require, that any person working on the project goes through cultural awareness training and receives a Welcome to Country from an appropriate Traditional Owner.

This helps ensure cultural safety for anyone visiting the area and is an important connection to traditional practices.

Working with the community

We recognise the unique privilege of working with the Aurukun community. One of our global priorities is to invest in community initiatives to deliver sustainable socio-economic benefits.  

Our vision is to achieve tangible benefits for the local community and Traditional Owners that align with aspirations for their community and their country.

We do this by working openly and transparently with all our stakeholders and by looking for where we can make the most effective positive contribution.

Since 2015, we have been pleased to support numerous events, initiatives and programs in Aurukun.

This has included:

• Community cultural events including community concerts and Aurukun Day
• the First Language Classroom and School awards for graduates at the Koolkan Aurukun State School
• school holiday programs at the Aurukun Police and Citizens Youth Club.

You can find out more in our regular community updates.

To support our vision for community investment in Aurukun, in 2020 we started the Aurukun Community Investment and Contributions Program (ACICP).

The program offers funding to local organisations who deliver services and initiatives in the areas of:

• education, employment and training
• business development
• arts, culture and wellbeing
• community infrastructure.

Glencore operates in accordance with the position statement of the International Council of Mining and Metals on engaging with Indigenous Peoples and free prior and informed consent.

This means that we:

• respect the rights, interests, special connections to lands and waters, and perspectives of Indigenous Peoples
• adopt and apply engagement and consultation processes that ensure the meaningful participation of indigenous communities in decision making
• work to obtain the consent of Indigenous Peoples.

Importantly this comprises both a process and an outcome. 

By working with families that include the directly affected Traditional Owners as well as representatives of the broader Native Title holder group we established a process that would support this commitment through a Project Working Group.

Project working group

In July 2019, a project working group was formed with representatives nominated by:

• Wik Waya families (the directly affected Traditional Owners)
• Ngan Aak Kunch Aboriginal Corporation (NAK) (representing the native title holders)
• Glencore.

In August 2020, the members of the working group gave it a language name Kuchek Karp Nyiian Ak Aak Ngamparam Ak (Heads Together...Talking About Our Country).

The working group met regularly to discuss project planning, potential impacts and opportunities, as well as any queries or concerns.

The working group appointed an Independent Observer and publishes an update in the community after each meeting.

For more information, view our consultation updates.

Traditional Owner Aspirations Project

The working group was also a forum to progress discussions about a potential agreement with Traditional Owners that could support the development and operation of the project.

Glencore and the working group members recognised the importance of providing directly affected Traditional Owners with the opportunity to communicate long-term aspirations and priorities that they wanted to be considered in an agreement-making process.

The working group commissioned the Traditional Owner Aspirations Project and appointed an independent consultant to undertake this engagement with a range of small and large family groups which involved more than 50 individual interviews and group meetings. 

These discussions provided feedback that was collated for the working group and identified eight key focus areas that were most important.  While aspirations will always change over time, the findings from this work have been used to help inform agreement development.

We know that any agreement will require broad support in line with the decision-making practices of the Traditional Owners. This process has progressed with Traditional Owners, their advisors and representatives of the prescribed body corporate, Ngan Aak Kunch Aboriginal Corporation.

Glencore’s project is on the traditional land of the Wik Waya people.

We acknowledge that Indigenous cultural heritage underpins the identity of the Traditional Owners in the Aurukun project area.

It is this knowledge of, and meaningful connection to, Country that we understand is essential for the Indigenous communities we work alongside to thrive.

Significant sites and story places

The Traditional Owners and our cultural heritage specialists are collaborating on extensive studies to build our knowledge of culturally significant sites and story places in and around the project area.

This information will help Traditional Owners advise how they would like to see their cultural heritage managed into the future.

This will include developing a Cultural Heritage Management Plan (CHMP) that ensures important heritage values of the project area are managed and protected before, during and after mining.