Indigenous engagement

We value the difference our partnerships make to the lives of the people on whose land we operate.

Creating connected and caring communities

Roy Hill has a diverse team who are committed to our values Lead, Care, Think and Perform and to engaging with Traditional Owners and communities throughout the Pilbara – together we are the Roy Hill Community.

We work closely with the Traditional Owners on whose land Roy Hill operates, the Kariyarra, the Palyku and the Nyiyaparli People to promote education, training, employment and business opportunities.

The Roy Hill Community understands that it’s important to listen and to be there to work together to provide support when issues or special opportunities arise. Some of the best community ideas and contributions come from our teams and from proud ‘Pilbarans’. These include:

• Shared learning and specialist training for Traditional Owners to collect native seeds for revegetation.
• Ethnobotanical studies with the Nyiyaparli people, recording traditional knowledge regarding the flora around the mine and published in the book Jirntalpa Karnti (Green Tree).
• Delivering essential food and cleaning supplies to isolated Aboriginal communities as part of our COVID-19 pandemic response.
• Sponsoring the Roy Hill Community Art Competition in collaboration with local schools and Traditional Owner businesses.
• Purchasing of dialysis equipment for the Puntukurnu Aboriginal Medical Service in Newman’s new health centre.
• Sponsoring the Bloodwood Tree Community Christmas Assistance Program supporting those in financial hardship.
• Sponsoring the Hedland Senior High School after school Robotics and Environmental science program.
• Providing annual funding for the Pilbara Girl Event, enabling young Aboriginal women to gain leadership and life skills, and completing TAFE certifications and personal development workshops.
• Supporting Nullagine Primary School to establish a STEAM lab at the campus by providing equipment and educational toys.

Roy Hill Philanthropy / Partnerships

• Indigenous Emerging Business Forum – Roy Hill has been the naming partner of the Indigenous Emerging Business Forum since 2021, a leading business development and employment forum that connects Indigenous businesses with mining and other industries.
• NAIDOC – We’re proud to sponsor the annual Perth NAIDOC Awards, recognising and celebrating Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander West Australians making an outstanding contribution in the community. Each year, NAIDOC Week is embraced by everyone across our sites with events including traditional storytelling, music, art and dance performances.
• Helping Indigenous creatives go global – We provided funding to enable Indigenous designers to showcase their talents at New York Fashion Week 2022

Indigenous Employment and Contracting

Roy Hill operates on the land of three native title holding groups – the Kariyarra, Palyku and Nyiyaparli People and we work closely with all three groups to promote education, training, employment and business opportunities.

• Roy Hill extends priority consideration for Traditional Owner candidates and employees and draws on two-way learning to promote Indigenous engagement throughout the business.
• Roy Hill has a dedicated Indigenous Business Development Manager that works with Indigenous businesses to ensure contracting opportunities are presented to them.
• Four Aboriginal Advisors who represent the Kariyarra, Nyiyaparli and Palyku people work across Roy Hill’s business areas to develop and promote employment opportunities for Aboriginal people.

Community Outreach

Roy Hill considers its relationships with native title groups an integral part of the Roy Hill community. We take pride in going beyond our legislative requirements and agreements and regularly support a range of projects working collaboratively with our Traditional Owners. Examples of current projects include:

• Providing shared learning and specialist training for Traditional Owners to collect native seeds for revegetation and rehabilitation.
• Ethnobotanical studies with the Nyiyaparli people, recording traditional knowledge regarding the flora around the Roy Hill mine area. An innovative book called Jirntalpa Karnti (Green Tree) has been published jointly by the Nyiyaparli People and Roy Hill and incorporates state of the art augmented reality.
• Delivering essential food and cleaning supplies to isolated Aboriginal communities, including as part of the company’s COVID-19 pandemic response.
• Supporting emerging Indigenous fashion designers with funding to take their talents to New York’s famous fashion week, providing them with opportunities to showcase their talents on this global stage.
• An annual Roy Hill Community Art Competition is undertaken in collaboration with local Pilbara schools and Traditional Owner businesses.
• Sponsor the Bloodwood Tree Community Christmas Assistance Program supporting those in financial hardship.
• Supporting Nullagine Primary School to establish a STEAM lab at the campus by providing equipment and educational toys.
• Remote communities Disco nights to engage youth. The first is in Yandeyarra on 21 October.
• Annual Indigenous Authors and Artists program in Pilbara schools across the footprint.
• Roy Hill supports remote schools in Strelley, Warralong, Yandeyarra, Nullgine and Jigalong communities with fresh fruit and vegetables on a monthly basis and various school holiday programs.
• Roy Hill also supports other initiatives, such as a community bus in Port Hedland, care and hygiene packs, programs for dis-engaged kids and “Christmas in Community”.

Land Management and Cultural Heritage

• From the first days of the project, Roy Hill has worked closely with representatives of the Native Title Groups the Kariyarra, the Palyku and the Nyiyaparli people, undertaking extensive and detailed heritage surveys to ensure the project limits its impact on areas of cultural significance.
• Protection of sites and places of cultural significance is a key imperative for our operations.
• We work with native title groups, to understand the requirement for ongoing mitigation and management strategies to ensure that cultural heritage, country, waterways and significant resources are protected for future generations.
• As part of our native title agreements, all employees are required to complete Cultural Awareness Training.
• Representatives from the three Traditional Owner Groups present the training and share important information about their history, culture, language and aspirations.

Native Title Agreements

• Roy Hill has native title agreements with all native title groups where we operate [mine, haul and ship] on their land. These agreements distribute significant royalties to each group as well as other agreed investments. We would not be allowed to operate without agreements. Approval to operate on native title land must be sought through these agreements before any company can operate a mining operation.
• We have very strong collaborative relationships with all the Groups. We are very proud of these relationships and meet both formally and informally.
• We have existing agreements with the Kariyarra, Palyku, Nyiyaparli and Nyamal People and we are working on new agreements with four additional groups. All of these groups are in the Pilbara region of Western Australia where all our operations are.

Hanrine Foundation

• The Hanrine Foundation is a collaborative social investment program established in 2015.
• It brings together a partnership between Roy Hill, contractors, business partners, suppliers and Traditional Owners to identify areas of need, opportunities and solutions.
• By drawing on our pooled skills and resources the Foundation provides practical support and a self-sustaining program of social support across three priority areas: health, education, arts and culture.
• In collaboration with the Perth Children’s Hospital Foundation, funding has encouraged world-class innovation with the development of a platform that is helping identify rare diseases in Indigenous children utilising facial recognition technology pioneered in WA.
• Hanrine Futures was initiated by our Executive Chairman Mrs Rinehart and is an Indigenous scholarship and career development program which begins when the student enters the program and continues through to employment. Hanrine Futures launched in 2022 and already has 20 students who have been awarded scholarships. The program works in partnership with MADALAH.
• The Hanrine Foundation has won numerous awards for the positive social impact it has made in the Pilbara.
• The Hanrine Foundation puts 100% of its funds into supporting future growth in the community, not into administration costs.