July 2008, Center for Social Responsibility in Mining
This report has been prepared to assist with planning for the completion of mining at Oz Minerals Century Mine. Century Mine is a large zinc mining and processing operation located in the lower Gulf of the Carpentaria region of North West Queensland, a remote area with a substantial Indigenous population. The mine operates on a Fly in Fly out (FIFO) basis, drawing its workforce from Townsville, Mt Isa and Cairns, as well as the Gulf communities. It is expected to close in 2015, or approximately seven years from now.
This report provides an assessment of the impact of Century Mine to date on the development of the lower Gulf region; documents the likely impacts of completion of mining on the region and identifies strategies for mitigating these impacts and maximising long term development outcomes for the region.
The study on which the report is based was a joint initiative between Century‟s Gulf Communities Agreement (GCA) Support Department, and The Centre for Social Responsibility in Mining (CSRM). Funding for the study was provided by Zinifex (now Oz Minerals) and the Queensland Department of State Development and Innovation (now the Department of Tourism, Regional Development and Innovation).
