Just before last Christmas, Community Relations Superintendent Leon van Erp mentioned to Telfer’s General Manager Paul Arndt that he wanted to give more local Martu people who had never worked previously the opportunity to experience life and employment conditions at the mine site.

Paul’s response was immediate: he invited Leon and his team to find six young people to start as Samplers within two weeks. Indigenous Liaison Officer Kevin Fred and Indigenous Mentor Lindsay Hardcase were just as immediately dispatched to drive hundreds of kilometers, visiting local remote indigenous communities to seek and recruit the required six keen young men. They were soon identified. Mark French, Rodney Badal, Paul Horace, Benjamin Toby, Stanley Toby and Dominic Gibbs undertook medical clearance tests, completed the necessary paper work to work on site, and attended an orientation program conducted by CR’s Colin Tincknell in the South Hedland office.

So, within two weeks, six young guys who had been minding their own business and living quietly in their own remote Western Desert communities now found themselves working 12 hours a day, 14 days straight in their first-ever job. The new Samplers have something else in common: they are all former students of Newcrestsupported training programs conducted at Pundulmurra College in South Hedland. Open Pit Technicians Supervisors Mick van Duren and Jason Smith have guided and supported the new Samplers, while Community Relations mentors Kevin Fred, Lindsay Hardcase and Charlie Wright have provided continuing mentoring support. The six young men will confront many challenges as the weeks and months go by but, if their performances to date are an accurate gauge, they have bright career prospects ahead of them.

Lindsay Hardcase, previously a driver with the Community Relations team, has joined Indigenous Liaison Officer Kevin Fred on the team as a mentor, looking after the young samplers, ensuring (among other things) they arrive at work on time and in good condition. Charlie Wright also joined the CR team recently as a mentor.