OREANDA-NEWS. April 06, 2015. Local Aboriginal people are playing a leading role in providing a stable and quality supply of seedlings to rehabilitate mined land at Rio Tinto Alcan’s bauxite mine in Far North Queensland.

The model engages local Aboriginal people from Weipa and its surrounding communities to collect native seed throughout the year for the mine’s land management trainees to grow and implement.

Rio Tinto Alcan Weipa local Aboriginal trainee Eileen Ludwick said “As a young local Aboriginal woman, I was interested to pursue a traineeship that allowed me to work within the land management space.

“For the last six months I have worked with Weipa’s Mine Service team to complete the on-the-ground implementation of land rehabilitation. This includes weed spraying, monitoring the growth of the nursery and prepping and spreading seed with heavy equipment in areas ready for rehabilitation across the mine.

“The land and our connection to Country are sacred within our culture, and working to help revegetate the land aligns with not only my professional aspirations, but with my personal values.”

A regeneration nursery was constructed in 2013 and more than 760 kilograms of seed was collected last year by about 100 local Aboriginal ‘pickers as a part of the pilot project. To date more than 21,000 seedlings have been nurtured as understorey for the mine, which were used to help rehabilitate approximately 50 hectares of land.

Rio Tinto Alcan Weipa general manager operations Gareth Manderson said “Involving local Aboriginal people in the land rehabilitation process makes good business sense.

“We recognise that we mine on Aboriginal land and can benefit from Traditional Owners’ unique connection to the land, in their understanding of the geography and climate, while we both work to sustain the long-term viability of the community.

“We are proud our traineeship programme and land rehabilitation model offers opportunities and land management experience to local Aboriginal people, as part of the three Aboriginal Agreements which underpin our operations.

“These are just a few of the many ways we’re working with local Aboriginal people to deliver strong outcomes for the region.”