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Xstrata Treetop Walkway opens at Kew Gardens
London, 22 May 2008
Xstrata has made a significant contribution to development and construction of the Xstrata Treetop Walkway at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.The Walkway is 18 metres high and is a permanent structure allowing visitors to stroll through the canopy of the Capability Brown’s woodland in Kew’s deciduous arboretum. The Treetop Walkway was designed by Marks Barfield Architects, the architects of the London Eye, who have won the Leisure category in this year’s Condé Nast Traveller Innovation and Design Awards for the Walkway and its accompanying Rhizotron. At 200 metres long the Walkway will provide an opportunity to experience trees and wildlife at height, as well as offering a bird’s eye view of Kew’s 300 acre site and the London skyline beyond. A sky classroom will offer a unique open-air learning environment in the treetops.
Mick Davis, Xstrata Chief Executive commented: “Xstrata has greatly benefited from its presence in London since our IPO in 2002 and we are delighted to support the development of this imaginative and educational installation at Kew. Xstrata has participated in this project through our corporate social involvement funds, which contribute a minimum of 1% of global profit before tax to numerous educational, environmental and social projects globally.”
The Xstrata Treetop Walkway and Rhizotron are an integral part of Kew’s summer festival and will also mark the start of Kew’s Year of the Tree. The Walkway will open to the public on 24 May 2008.
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| Xstrata contacts | ||||
| Claire Divver | Pamela Bell | |||
| Telephone | +44 20 7968 2871 | Telephone | +44 20 7968 2822 | |
| Mobile | +44 7785 964 340 | Mobile | +44 7799 626715 | |
| Email | cdivver@xstrata.com | Email | pbell@xstrata.com | |
| www.xstrata.com | ||||
XSTRATA PLC
Xstrata is a global diversified mining group, listed on the London and Swiss Stock Exchanges, with its headquarters in Zug, Switzerland. Xstrata’s businesses maintain a meaningful position in seven major international commodity markets: copper, coking coal, thermal coal, ferrochrome, nickel, vanadium and zinc, with additional exposures to platinum group metals, gold, cobalt, lead and silver, recycling facilities and a suite of global technology products, many of which are industry leaders. The Group's operations and projects span 18 countries: Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Colombia, the Dominican Republic, Germany, New Caledonia, Norway, Papua New Guinea, Peru, the Philippines, South Africa, Spain, Tanzania, the USA and the UK. Xstrata employs approximately 56,000 people, including contractors.
Xstrata contributes a minimum of 1% of Group profit before tax each year to fund initiatives that benefit the communities associated with its operations, particularly those located in remote areas or in regions with a lower level of social and economic development and infrastructure. Xstrata develops and supports community social involvement programmes in the areas of community health, education, social and community development and culture and art. In 2007, Xstrata set aside a total of $102 million and the majority of corporate social involvement funds were spent in South America and South Africa for community development initiatives, education and enterprise development.