Anglo American has joined forces with Komatsu to rehabilitate the Dawson coal mine in Queensland’s Bowen Basin by planting 9000 trees.The “growing together” partnership is set to restore the land in old mine sites for agricultural use, with the new project adding to Anglo American’s $162 million worth of rehabilitation across its five Central Queensland mine sites.
Workers from the two companies have already planted 4000 trees at the 90-hectare Dawson mine site, with assistance given by 40 students from Moura and Banana State Schools along with Traditional Owners from the Gangulu Nation.
Workers planting the trees from the two companies were given assistance by around 40 students from Moura and Banana State Schools from the local community, along with Traditional Owners from the Gangulu Nation.
The two companies are demonstrating their support for sustainable mining practices in the region with over $80 million spent on restoring the Dawson mine between 2019-2023, according to Anglo American Metallurgical Coal Business chief executive officer Tyler Mitchelson.
“Collaboration across our industry and the communities where we operate is a powerful way to achieve improved sustainability outcomes in the local area,” he said.
“We were very pleased to welcome students from Moura and Banana state schools to Dawson Mine, to help share information about native plants, mine rehabilitation and have them join in with our tree planting event.
“Schools were also given free plants to take back and plant, so we look forward to seeing more native trees growing across the region.
“A key pillar of our global Sustainable Mining Plan is ‘healthy environment’ and this partnership demonstrates our commitment to innovative and sustainable environmental practices.”
The trees planted have included a pilot of biodegradable “cocoon” planting technology, which prevents the need for irrigation to prevent the trees from dying in a drought. The “cocoon” pods require 100 times less water than traditional methods of irrigation.
Komatsu’s new partnership with Anglo American is another step in its “growing forward” environmental initiative, with the company deploying reforestation efforts in other parts of the world, according to Komatsu Mining Corp president and chief executive officer Jeffrey Dawes.
“We believe that maintaining high environmental standards is more than a good business practice — it is a fundamental responsibility owed to our employees, customers, communities and the environment we all share,” he said.
“It’s an honour to be partnering with Anglo American, who are global leaders in sustainable mining, to increase the use of advanced mine rehabilitation methods and complete the cycle — bringing the land back to its original use following the extraction of essential minerals needed to grow modern society.”