Mineral Resources (MinRes) has partnered with Lifeline WA to help the state’s mining workers deal with mental health challenges.
Under a three-year agreement, MinRes will help fund activities carried out by the largest suicide prevention service in the state.
MinRes has also branded its NextGen II crushing plant in Lifeline WA’s trademark blue to signify this partnership.
The plant is capable of crushing 15 million tonnes of iron ore a year and is being transported in parts from MinRes’ Kwinana workshop by road to a client’s mine site near Newman.
This will involve a convoy of more than 100 flatbed trucks over about four weeks. Each truck is expected to take two to three days to cover the 1200 kilometres journey.
“(The plant) will stand 22 metres tall when fully erected and be a highly visible reminder for everyone to check in on their mental health and also to reach out to work mates to make sure no one is left alone,” Ellison said.
Lifeline WA will provide MinRes with training opportunities to boost workers’ confidence, willingness and skills to have conversations about mental health at the earliest opportunity.
“The Mineral Resources family relies on our workforce, which is why we are doing everything possible to ensure our team of 3100 men and women remains not just physically healthy but also mentally healthy,” Ellison said.
“The COVID-19 pandemic has further exposed the stress that some workers across the entire (Western Australian) mining industry, not just FIFO (fly-in, fly-out) workers, are under.
“Having an organisation like Lifeline WA that is well-funded and able to expand on its vital crisis support service is hugely important not only for (MinRes) but for the entire state.”
MinRes will focus its investment on Lifeline WA’s award-winning telephone crisis support service as well as helping to establish mining sector-specific mental health resources.
Lifeline WA answered a record 33,879 calls from people in need of support last financial year.
This contributes to more than 50,000 Western Australians who have used the service, with the number expected to rise due to COVID-19 impacts.
“I recently visited a Mineral Resources site and heard first-hand from hard-working people about how important it is to feel supported and support others while you are away from your family,” Lifeline WA chief executive Lorna MacGregor said.
“We are grateful to Mineral Resources for acknowledging this need and for making mental health and suicide prevention a priority.
“We don’t want our fellow Western Australians to suffer in silence.”