Fortescue Metals Group Limited : United Nations Special Rapporteur James Anaya visits North Star Project

08/27/2012| 02:25am US/Eastern

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United Nations Special Rapporteur James Anaya visits North Star Project

Mr Anaya visited North Star, 100 kilometres south of Port Hedland, to witness a ceremony marking an historic land access agreement signed by Fortescue and the Njamal People in December 2011.
Dr Anaya also visited a number of significant heritage areas and participated in an environmental survey with Njamal and Fortescue representatives over identified sites of significance.
"I'm grateful to the Njamal people for the opportunity to meet with them on their country, along with representatives of Fortescue and learn about a unique and potentially beneficial arrangement with the mining industry," Professor Anaya said.
Fortescue Chief Executive Officer Nev Power said he was pleased Mr Anaya, a University of Arizona professor, could visit North Star during his visit to Australia and learn more about the company's unique agreement with the Njamal People. "We're
very proud of our agreement with the Njamal People and we're excited by the interest it has received," Mr Power said. "The agreement will enable the Njamal People to co-own
and jointly operate a proposed mining project, which will lead to significant employment and business opportunities."
In December 2011, Fortescue and the Njamal People entered into a project area land access agreement, initially proposed by the Njamal People, which will lead to the creation of a joint venture to run a mining operation on an orebody adjacent to the proposed North Star mine. Fortescue has so far identified more than 3.2 billion tonnes of resources at North Star, making it one of the largest magnetite deposits in Australia.
Doris Eaton, a respected Njamal Elder, said the trip was a good opportunity to show Professor Anaya and the wider community what the Njamal People have achieved through their agreement with Fortescue. "It is important that people see the beauty of our country first hand so that we can all work together to protect our culture, heritage and stories," Mrs Eaton said.
Mr Anaya travelled to North Star after attending a roundtable hosted by the National Congress of Australia's First People in Melbourne. The roundtable included representatives from Indigenous communities, the federal government and mining companies.
Fortescue's land access agreement at North Star reflects its ongoing commitment to
delivering real outcomes for Aboriginal people. One of Fortescue's key initiatives to

encourage Aboriginal employment in the mining industry is the establishment of its
Vocational Training and Employment Centres (VTEC) in the Pilbara.
Fortescue opened its VTEC in South Hedland in 2006 and Roebourne in 2010. Since then, VTEC has provided training and support opportunities to more than 1000
Aboriginal people.
Fortescue currently employees 422 Aboriginal people, representing more than 10 per cent of its work force. About 630 Aboriginal people currently work for Fortescue's contracting partners, taking the total number of Aboriginal employees across its mining operations to more than 1000.
To further support sustainable business development for Aboriginal businesses, Fortescue pledged that $1 billion would be awarded to Aboriginal contractors or sub- contractors by June 2013. To date, $615 million has been awarded to more than 50 separate contractors and sub-contractors.
Please note, photographs are available on request.

Yvonne Ball
Mobile: 0417 937 904

Email: yball@fmgl.com.au

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