PERTH (miningweekly.com) – Diversified miners Glencore and South32 have both pledged A$1-million each for flood relief in Queensland.
Several parts of Queensland have been declared disaster zones, with thousands evacuated on the back of a 1-in-100-year flood, with Townsville at the center of the catastrophe.
Glencore, which has been operating in the Townsville region for nearly 60 years, has donated A$1-million to the North Queensland flood recovery fund, to support the communities in the flood stricken areas.
South32 on Thursday also pledged A$1-million to the St Vincent de Paul Society Queensland’s flood appeal, with CEO Graham Kerr saying the company was committed to making a difference for employees and communities impacted by the flood.
“We are hearing heart-breaking stories from our people about the impact this event has had on their lives,” said South32’s Cannington mine VP of operations, Rob Jackson.
“The clean-up and flood remediation work will take time and will have long-term effects on the residents of Townsville. We need to support this.”
The Queensland Resources Council has welcomed the financial contributions, with CEO Ian Macfarlane saying that the resources sector had a proud and long history of working with regional Queensland communities especially in times of need.
“This catastrophic weather has inundated people’s homes, flooded local businesses and tested North Queenslanders’ resolve. But while locals are down, they’re definitely not out, and now is the time for everyone to do what they can to start the recovery.”