Further certification for Newlands rehabilitation work

Media statement
Brisbane, Australia

Certification of another 138 hectares of rehabilitation at Newlands Open Cut mine in central Queensland means that almost 1,000 hectares of rehabilitated mined land across Glencore's coal operations has now been signed-off by government.

The Newlands achievement is the eighth successful certification application by a Glencore coal operation and the sixth at a Queensland site, following previous sign-off on 73 hectares at Newlands (2017), almost 400 hectares at Rolleston (2018 and 2019), 99 hectares at Collinsville (2020) and 132 hectares at Oaky Creek (2017).

New South Wales sites Westside (38 hectares in 2020) and Ulan (52 hectares in 2020) have also achieved sign-off on areas of rehabilitation.

Newlands became the first operation in Bowen Basin mining history to achieve certification for rehabilitation of coal mine overburden spoil in 2017.

The latest certification at the site relates to land that was mined in the 1990s, with regulators determining that rehabilitation of these areas has met completion criteria for post-mining agricultural purposes, including cattle grazing.

"It's an achievement that is being celebrated across our entire workforce because integration of rehabilitation into our daily mine planning and operations is the key to delivering these outcomes," Newlands Operations Manager Clayton Stansbie said.

"This is not only reflected in the government certification process, but also in our annual rehabilitation results: Newlands has rehabilitated more than 100 hectares of mined land every year since 2017.

"It means we are making significant progress on our rehabilitation work while active mining continues rather than leaving a large commitment at the end of mining."

Glencore's General Manager of Environment & Community, John Watson, said all sites were delivering strong performance with rehabilitation.

"We understand and accept that governments and our communities expect us to deliver progressive, quality rehabilitation and our results are showing a continued focus on those outcomes," Mr Watson said.

"In total, our sites have now completed more than 20,000 hectares of rehabilitation, equivalent to almost the entire city of Sydney."

For further information, please contact:

Allyn Hamonet
m: +61 418 228 075
e: Allyn Hamonet

Francis De Rosa
m: +61 417 074 751
e: Francis De Rosa

Notes for editors

About Glencore

Glencore is one of the world’s largest global diversified natural resource companies and a major producer and marketer of more than 60 responsible-sourced commodities that advance everyday life. The Group's operations comprise around 150 mining and metallurgical sites and oil production assets.

With a strong footprint in over 35 countries in both established and emerging regions for natural resources, Glencore's industrial and marketing activities are supported by a global network of more than 30 marketing offices. Glencore's customers are industrial consumers, such as those in the automotive, steel, power generation and oil sectors. We also provide financing, logistics and other services to producers and consumers of commodities. Glencore's companies employ around 135,000 people, including contractors.

Glencore is proud to be a member of the Voluntary Principles on Security and Human Rights and the International Council on Mining and Metals. We are an active participant in the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative. Our ambition is to be a net zero total emissions company by 2050.

For more information, visit Glencore's website. 

About Glencore Australia

Glencore produces coal, copper, cobalt, nickel and zinc from 25 mines across Australia. We also operate metals processing assets in Queensland, including a copper smelter, lead smelter and copper refinery.

We employ 17,690 people in Australia and in 2020 contributed over $13.8 billion to the regional, state and national economies. The most significant contribution came from our core business activities: employing people, sourcing from local communities and paying taxes to host governments.

About Glencore's coal business in Australia 

Glencore is one of Australia's largest coal producers with 17 operational mines across New South Wales and Queensland.

We provide employment for almost 10,000 Australians and in 2020 managed the production of about 99 million tonnes of thermal and coking coal, predominantly for export.

We have a strong safety and environmental performance and play an active role in the development of low emission coal technology.