Community

The Southdown Project will have significant impacts on the Great Southern region of Western Australia. It is the first mine of this magnitude ever developed in the region.

The Project will create hundreds of jobs during the 2 year construction phase and directly sustain about 250 permanent jobs during its 22+ year mine life. The Project will operate a workforce that will live in the Great Southern region. Suitable employees may already live in the region or will be attracted to the region by this Project. It is expected that some local communities will grow as a result of the Project.

Work routines will most likely involve a mixture of options to suit the needs of employees. It is expected that some employees living nearby will commute on a daily basis whilst others may find daily commuting not desirable and rather work a short roster living on site, returning home at the end of their roster period to spend time with families.

Albany Port will expand its capacity and throughput significantly as a result of the Project. It will be able to handle much larger ships than it currently can which will benefit not only the export of iron ore but also any future trade that the Port may attract.

Transporting 6.6 million tonnes of magnetite concentrate annually to Albany Port via underground pipeline is a proven, safe, cost effective solution with no long term community impact once the pipelines are laid. Transporting via other methods (road or rail) would adversely affect the lives of many Albany and regional residents and were discounted as unsustainable solutions for the Project.