By Jessica Casey 

September 10, 2021 - Bravus Mining and Resources has signed an agreement that will see Queensland family-owned business, MacKellar Group, undertake mining services at the Carmichael Mine for the next five years.

Bravus Mining and Resources CEO, David Boshoff, said MacKellar Group had constructed the Carmichael Mine to date and they are delighted that the relationship will continue well into the future.

“Recruitment is already underway for more than 280 full-time employees, with roles including haul truck drivers, maintenance workers and many other trades,” Boshoff said.

“This is great news for MacKellar Group employees and contractors as it opens up long-term opportunities to work on this exciting project well into the future and builds upon the work of the MacKellar Group and Bravus teams.

“Onsite jobs will continue to operate as FIFO roles with Townsville and Rockhampton being our primary recruitment hubs, we will also be drawing from other Central and North Queensland regions including towns such as Clermont, Moranbah, Emerald and Charters Towers,” he said.

MacKellar Group Managing Director Duncan MacKellar said it was a great step for the company that began in 1966 and specialises in heavy earthmoving equipment solutions and has a proud history of working on both mining and civil earthwork projects around Australia.

“We are excited to be continuing our partnership with Bravus and to have the opportunity to build a different work environment to what employees may have experienced in other big mining companies,” MacKellar added.

“We respect the knowledge, expertise and experience all our people bring to work and we want them to use that to drive innovation and create a great culture at the Carmichael Mine. Importantly we are talking about full time secure work with these positions – these are opportunities for people and their families to put down permanent roots in North and Central Queensland.”

Boshoff said they were pleased to be again partnering with a Queensland business, especially during this time when the local economy needs a welcome boost.

“We are proud to have made good on our promises to Queensland and especially regional Queensland. We have created more than 2600 jobs and signed more than AUS$2.2 billion in contracts during this construction phase. Now we are seeing hundreds of permanent jobs become available as we enter operations.

“More than 88% of our contracts are being delivered in Queensland. This work has been spread across all corners of the state to give as many regions as possible the opportunity to benefit from our project, while also enabling us to tap into the highly-skilled construction and resources industry workforce that Queensland possesses.”