Rio Tinto employs nearly 600 indigenous people in Cape York

25th January 2018 By: Creamer Media Reporter

JOHANNESBURG (miningweekly.com) – Diversified mining group Rio Tinto is delivering on its commitments to provide employment to locals at its Cape York bauxite sites, in Australia’s far north.

The Queensland Resources Council (QRC) reported on Thursday that Rio Tinto’s indigenous workforce had reached 574 across the bauxite sites, including 244 local Aboriginal people at the A$2.6-billion Amrum project.

“It’s not just construction jobs Rio is providing, contractors in the post construction phase can participate in an Amrun upskilling programme,” QRC CEO Ian Macfarlane said.

Meanwhile, growth in indigenous employment in the Queensland resources sector has doubled in ten years. According to the latest census data, indigenous workers in the sector stood at 908 in 2006 and rose to 2 007 in 2016.

In 2006, indigenous people comprised 3% of the state’s workforce in resources, whereas in 2016, it had grown to 4%. Queensland’s indigenous population is 4%, which places the resources sector as one of the few industries to reflect Queensland’s diverse population.