Amid widespread industry disruption caused by closed Australian and State borders, and significant changes to work rosters and mine-site management, iron ore majors Rio Tinto, Roy Hill, BHP, and Fortescue Metals Group showed their united effort in a series of advertisements in The West Australian.
“The health and safety of our people, their families and communities remains our highest priority, and we stand together with WA to help contain the spread of COVID-19,” the full-page ad said.
“Now more than ever, the resources sector is supporting WA by contributing to the local economy through wages, community investment, royalties and business purchases.”
This is in line with FMG’s announcement of a $1 million donation to the Royal Flying Doctor Service to help boost the organisation’s frontline services during the COVID-19 outbreak in addition to BHP’s $2 million donation.
Roy Hill, BHP, Chevron, Rio Tinto, and CBH Group have also donated to the RFDS.
Rio Tinto pledged a further $25 million to support COVID-19 preparedness, taking its total estimated voluntary global community contributions to around $60 million for 2020.
BHP has said it will employ an additional 1500 people to support its workforce, as well as reducing payment terms for small, local and Indigenous businesses to support its communities and regional economies during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“At this point in time, most of our assets continue to operate, with health and safety as a first priority, and I am proud of the way our employees have risen to the challenge to keep themselves, their colleagues and communities safe,” Rio Tinto chief executive Jean-Sébastien Jacques said.
BHP Foundation Chair Chip Goodyear said: “This is an unprecedented and dynamic situation and while the challenges we face are overwhelming and appear insurmountable, now more than ever, we need each other and must work together”.
