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Xstrata Zinc today welcomed traditional owners onto MRM mine site (PDF)
Darwin, 23 June 2008
Xstrata Zinc’s McArthur River Mining (MRM) today welcomed a group of Traditional Owners and community members to the mine site to participate in a ceremony in accordance with Aboriginal tradition at a nominated sacred site.
MRM General Manager Ettienne Moller said MRM was pleased to facilitate today’s visit.
A previously arranged visit planned for Saturday (21 June) was cancelled by the Traditional Owners.
"We have been keen to organise a visit and today was extremely positive.
"The visit allowed the Traditional Owners to gain real peace of mind that their sacred sites were being protected,” Mr Moller said.
“The group conducted a ceremony at one of their sacred sites under the guidance of Bruce Joy, Djunkai, Keeper of the Dreamtime Stories, Senior Traditional Owner, Gurdanji people.
“In the spirit of cooperation, we then took the Traditional Owners on a guided tour of the mine where we were able to show them the open pit development, the completed river diversion works and our extensive rehabilitation activities, before sharing lunch.
“This visit was a great step forward as we continue to work closely with our local Traditional Owners and the community to deliver significant economic and social benefits to the Territory,” Mr Moller said.
ends
Xstrata Zinc Australia contacts:
Patrick Collins
General Manager
Corporate Affairs and Community Relations
Xstrata Zinc Australia
Telephone: 0423 842 994
Email: pcollins@xstratazinc.com.au
Kathy Mac Dermott, Rowland
Telephone: 07 3229 4499
Mobile: 044 88 44 508
Email: Kathy.macdermott@rowland.com.au
About Xstrata Zinc
Headquartered in Madrid, Spain, Xstrata Zinc is one of the world’s largest producers of zinc and one of the commodity business units within the major global diversified mining group Xstrata plc. Xstrata’s zinc and lead operations and exploration projects are located in Australia, Canada, Germany, Peru, Spain and the United Kingdom.
Xstrata Zinc’s operations in Spain comprise the San Juan de Nieva zinc smelter and the Arnao zinc semis plant in Asturias, and the Hinojedo roasting plant in Cantabria.
In Australia, operations comprise the Mount Isa, George Fisher underground and Black Star open cut zinc lead mines, zinc lead concentrator, lead smelter and Bowen Coke Works in north Queensland; 75% of the Lady Loretta zinc lead deposit in northKwest Queensland; the McArthur River open pit zinc lead mine, processing and port operations in the Northern Territory; and 50% of the Lennard Shelf underground zinc lead mine and processing operations in Western Australia.
In Canada, operations and exploration projects include the Brunswick zincKlead mine and lead smelter in New Brunswick; 25% of the CEZ zinc smelter near Montreal; and the Perseverance zinc deposit in Quebec.
Xstrata Zinc also operates the Nordenham zinc smelter in northern Germany; the Northfleet lead refinery in the United Kingdom; and owns 33.75% of the Antamina mine in Peru.
Around half of all zinc currently consumed is used for galvanizing steel, which is an environmentally friendly method of protecting steel against corrosion. Zinc also finds application in the manufacture of dieKcast alloys, brass and the production of zinc oxides and chemicals.