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Glencore Group Reveals Growing Community Footprint

04 June 2019 | BBMC Events

Joshua Harris, Procurement Manager with Glencore’s Australian coal business, revealed the impressive results of intensive
internal research to a sold-out Bowen Basin Mining Club luncheon in Mackay last week.

He revealed that suppliers represented in the room accounted for almost a billion dollars of direct spend by the coal business in
2018.

Although Glencore have been operating in Australia for 20 years, until recently there was only a superficial understanding of the
company’s relevance to the everyday lives of the communities where Glencore operates.

Joshua explained, “We’ve undergone a major change in mindset as a result of our research. We understand and accept that to
help maintain our social licence to operate, we need to better demonstrate our contributions to communities.”

Drilling down to postcode level, data was mined across Glencore’s geographical spread, and aggregated at local government,
regional, state and national levels. The resulting numbers, took many by surprise, including the fact that Glencore buys goods
and services from more than 1400 companies in the Bowen Basin, almost 1000 of these in the Mackay LGA.

Mr Harris also provided a snapshot of the Glencore coal business’s Community Investment program, under which 40-plus
community partners in health, environment and education benefit from almost $5 million invested annually in Queensland and
NSW.

Mr Harris detailed Glencore’s procurement and payment processes, emphasising the autonomy of each site in a decentralised
structure to do business locally wherever possible.

Stasia Willoughby, Contracts Co-ordinator at Hail Creek Mine, Glencore’s 2018 acquisition, also outlined the next 18 months of
planned development for the site.

Terracing will replace dragline operations, and expansion operations along the Eastern Margin of the site are about to
commence tenders for early works. Both initiatives will result in significant cost savings, and major opportunities will be
available for contractors and suppliers.

The BBMC’s Director, Jodie Currie, says it’s fantastic to see a major player like Glencore engaging with their supplier base and
truly quantifying the significant contribution that they make to their host communities.

“We know that mining companies make a strong contribution to their communities, but we are extremely impressed by the real
numbers behind Glencore’s operations in the last few years as the industry has strengthened,” said Ms Currie.

The next BBMC luncheon will be held in Mackay on 25 July, featuring James Palmer, BMA’s Asset President. Tickets are on sale
now via www.bbminingclub.com.