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skIlls

WA miners stiffen for

COVID influx

W est Australian Premier Mark spread.
“[Guidance assumes] development of the
McGowan’s decision to delay reo-
pening of the State’s borders has granted pandemic does not lead to government-im-
the local resources sector more time to posed restrictions and widespread protract-
prepare for the impact of community ed cases related to new highly contagious
spread of COVID. variants with high severity, which could re-
McGowan’s surprise January 20 an- sult in a significant number of our production Stuart Tonkin
nouncement that the planned reopening on critical workforce and contractor base being
February 5 would not go ahead will allow unable to work due to illness and/or isolation
WA miners to continue almost two years of requirements,” the company said. ing the end of mining at its prolific DeGrussa
largely uninterrupted operations. “This risk extends to prolonged interrup- copper operation in the Murchison district of
The WA industry has bucked global trends tion of service from a key partner or supplier WA – has been stockpiling ore in anticipation
in the last two years, enjoying near record which could lead to severely constrained of community spread.
levels of production and revenue thanks operational activity of a key asset or project. “In the back of our mind, we are conscious
to surging demand and the State Govern- This risk is exacerbated globally by tight la- of the border opening and have been trying
ment’s decisions to declare mineworkers bour markets and supply chain delays.” to build some buffer depending what hap-
“essential” while placing strict border con- BHP Ltd also acknowledged the impact of pens regards community transition once we
trols on the outside world. the virus and related restrictions on recent reopen,” chief operating officer Jason Grace
Impact to industry has been limited to and future iron ore production. said.
access to non-domestic labour pools with “The proposed easing of Western Aus-
many workers unable to travel between tralia’s border restrictions on February 5
states and others reluctant to relocate to may introduce some short-term disruption to The Federal Government’s decision to
WA. the operating environment as the COVID-19 offer rebates on international student and
Rio Tinto Ltd’s half-year results showed a pandemic evolves in the state,” the company backpacker visas has been welcomed by
4% decrease in production from its Pilbara reported in its half-year statement. the Chamber of Minerals & Energy WA
iron ore operations. While the company WA’s largest gold miner, Northern Star Re- (CMEWA).
placed much of the blame on above-aver- sources Ltd, also saw production and costs Prime Minister Scott Morrison announced the
age rainfall, cultural heritage management hampered by the border closures but with a initiative on January 19 in an effort to entice
and delays in growth and brownfields pro- recent COVID-19 outbreak on its Pogo mine young people to Australia to ease employ-
jects, it also pointed to the ongoing impact of in Alaska still fresh in the mind, the company ment issues across several sectors.
COVID-related policies. is confident it will adjust to any community
“Ongoing COVID-19 restrictions and a spread in WA. CMEWA chief executive Paul Everingham
tight labour market have further impacted “We remain on track to meet our FY22 said the initiative could help relieve some of
our ability to access experienced contrac- guidance, which incorporates the current the 40,000-worker shortfall the WA industry
tors and particular skill sets,” the company WA border closure and associated labour could face in the next two years.
said in its half-year report. and cost impacts,” managing director Stuart “International entrants are likely to react
The proposed February 5 reopening Tonkin said during the company’s quarterly positively to initiatives like this visa rebate,
would’ve meant a switch in industry strategy presentation. which will remove one of the potential barriers
from struggling to get workers into opera- “Overall, it is still difficult to establish what associated with travelling to Australia,” Ever-
tions, to keeping the virus out of mine sites. the actual impacts could be. All the com- ingham said.
Prior to the decision to reverse the reo- panies [in WA] are very well prepared and
pening, CMEWA chief executive Paul Ever- particularly given our experience at Pogo in “The backpackers among them will provide
ingham said the relaxation of border restric- Alaska we’ve implemented a lot of the same an important labour source for the agricultural,
tions was crucial to easing the growing skills things to mitigate the amount of contacts our retail and hospitality sectors in particular,
crisis. teams are having. We have a lot of contin- which may in turn free up other workers to
“The reopening of borders into WA…will gencies and diversification in where opera- pursue opportunities in mining.
be a very important first step towards alle- tions, activity and skills fit. “Many of the students, meanwhile, will be
viating some of these skills pressures, pro- “There is trepidation, probably more re- studying subjects that will equip them with
viding access to labour pools interstate and lated to the regime of quarantine related to knowledge and skills that will very much be
overseas that industry has traditionally been positive cases and close contacts. If it is the required by our sector, both in the short and
able to call on in times of need,” he said. 14-day quarantine, that becomes a problem longer terms.
Rio Tinto acknowledged the new threat as the domino effect of more cases [takes
in its report, leaving open the possibility that hold]. We believe that will be reviewed and “CME and its member companies are very
COVID-19 could impact WA iron ore opera- that there’ll be a risk-based approach and much committed to helping prepare the
tions even after hard borders were lowered that will involve the rapid antigen tests that mining and resources sector workforce of
in the same way business in the rest of everyone is stockpiling.” the future, and students benefiting from this
Australia has been affected by community Sandfire Resources Ltd – which is near- rebate will be part of that.”

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