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Colinta Holdings

Glencore owns and runs a pastoral company in Australia called Colinta Holdings Pty Ltd.

Founded in 1978, Colinta became part of Xstrata after the acquisition of MIM Holdings Ltd in 2003. It then became part of Glencore in 2013 after the Xstrata merger.

People are often surprised to learn that up to 75% of the land that our Australian coal, copper and zinc businesses own or lease is used for agricultural purposes.

Location and purpose

With up to 50,000 head of cattle on 1.27 million acres of land across the Hunter Valley, Mudgee region, central and north-west Queensland, and the Northern Territory, Colinta plays an important role in ensuring we use the land productively.

The business currently employs 60 permanent staff, a number that varies slightly depending on seasonal considerations.

We breed, background and fatten livestock, targeting both the live export and feedlotting markets in the north of Australia and fattening in the south. We also breed our own bulls to suit the environment where they will be located. These environments vary considerably from the Northern Territory to the Hunter Valley.

Health and safety

Colinta operates under the SAFEAG model, as part of Glencore Coal Australia's SafeWork framework, and has adopted Glencore's Health, Safety, Environment and Community (HSEC) Management System Framework to guide our approach to workplace health and safety.

We continually review and implement our strategy and planning process through this framework, complying with legal obligations and delivering Glencore's values and priorities with the aim of best practice.

The framework outlines how health and safety is integrated into the organisation, including our legislative responsibilities, planning processes and risk management practices.

Environment

Colinta is committed to practical management of the environment as a whole. We strive to reduce our environmental footprint, and improve and protect the natural resources to create a sustainable and durable environment for future generations.

Property development is managed by an in-depth understanding of the land areas and seasonal climatic variances using a holistic framework including pasture utilisation, biodiversity, weed management, water management and energy efficiency.

Annually assessing pastures and the condition of grazing land is crucial for environmental planning. Our assessments begin on the Easter Moon (the first full moon of autumn), which is when the summer rains end. Pasture assessments continue throughout the year and decisions revolve around these seasonal reports.

Grazing land condition is defined as the capacity of land to respond to rain and produce useful forage—it is a measure of how well the grazing ecosystem is functioning.

We are able to use grazing as a tool to improve the environment resulting in increased stocking rates, significant pasture improvement and regeneration of previously over-grazed grasslands.

A sustainable grazing management system is a process of continuous improvement which incorporates:

  • increasing productivity and profit from the grazing system
  • protecting on-farm natural resources, such as perennial grasses and other native or introduced grasses
  • assessing and maintaining pasture quality
  • creating more depth for biodiversity
  • active involvement in environmental and community groups
  • developing targets or plans that encourage environmental management as an integral part of the grazing business, such as water infrastructure and fencing improvements
  • managing the interactions between climate, water, soils, nutrients, trees and biodiversity in grazing systems
  • knowledge and awareness of the key environmental issues for each property, catchment area and region
  • predicting changes and trends on the land so we can respond effectively
  • managing stocking rates to reach production and land condition targets.

Effective weed management of grazing land involves:

  • forward planning to ensure successful control
  • awareness of existing and potential weed problems
  • detection and early intervention of new infestations to contain the spread of weeds
  • self-monitoring and monitoring associated with Southern Gulf Catchment group.

We work in conjunction with local Rural Fire Boards to ensure our fire management practices enhance land condition by controlling woody regrowth, promoting desirable pasture species, suppressing weeds and maintaining healthy pastures.

Community

As part of our commitment to maintaining good community relations with all key stakeholders, we devote time, effort and resources to communication and involvement with local communities and neighbouring Glencore mining operations.

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