Equipment handovers are common, albeit usually low-key affairs for leading Cat® dealer WesTrac.
But a recent ceremony at WesTrac’s South Guildford facility held special meaning for the
stakeholders involved. Indigenous contracting business Civil Road & Rail SX5, part of the broader SX5 Group of companies, will use the new Cat D10T2 Dozer for mine rehabilitation services at Rio Tinto’s mine sites in the Pilbara.
According to SX5 directors Ralph and Cherie Keller, and co-director and Eastern Guruma senior elder Kenzie Smith, the act of rehabilitating the land has grown in significance over recent years.
“We’re making things green again, making Country feel better,” Ralph said.
“In repairing Country, we’re helping repair the trust and relationships with the region’s Traditional Owners.”
As well as being among the Traditional Owners of the land, Kenzie Smith’s family have had a long history of helping modern enterprises utilise and rehabilitate the land. The family once helped break horses and muster cattle on the stations in the region and was permitted to gather any stock left behind to sell themselves.
SX5 was the brand applied to those stray cattle before they were taken to market. That set the family on an entrepreneurial path that resulted in Kenzie helping to establish and run SX5’s contracting business. WesTrac General Manager Cameron Callaway said miners, as well as their suppliers and service providers, understood the vital importance of engaging with the
Traditional Owners on whose country they operate to ensure continual improvement in environmental, social and governance outcomes. “The world needs miners to supply the mineral resources required for a more sustainable future, and that means we need to support sustainable mining initiatives,” Cameron said.
“Drawing on the knowledge of Traditional Owners and the expertise of knowledgeable, experienced Indigenous organisations such as SX5 is a key aspect of that, and it’s especially rewarding for WesTrac to be involved in projects such as this.”
The Cat D10T2 is a key part of that sustainability story, with onboard technologies to drive greater efficiency, productivity and fuel economy, as well as improved operator safety and comfort. The D10T2 is also equipped with the building blocks to enable remote and semi-autonomous operations.
Ralph Keller says technology has been key to SX5’s success, and support from Indigenous Business Australia (IBA) has made it possible for the group to continue to purchase equipment with the latest machine control technologies.
“What makes us different is that SX5 continues to reinvent itself every day,” he said.
“It’s all about technology. That’s how you achieve excellence and how you mitigate risk.”