The Aboriginal business sector in the Goldfields has been a poor cousin to the Pilbara but is starting to develop.
THE Goldfields Aboriginal Business Chamber had 22 members when it was launched two years ago.
It now has 43 members, has secured funding, and hired Elaine Jolliffe as executive manager.
That signals the encouraging growth of Aboriginal businesses in the Goldfields, including companies such as Kai Rho Contracting, Indigenous Personnel and Training, Tucker Dust and Diesel, and Triodia Resources.
Ms Jolliffe, who moved to Kalgoorlie this year to take up her new role, acknowledges the sector is fledgling. “I was quite shocked at the lack of engagement from industry with the Aboriginal business sector,” Ms Jolliffe told Business News.
“Indigenous procurement is like a foreign language, it’s brand new to a lot of the players here, which is disappointing considering the Pilbara and the Kimberley do it so well.”
However, she is seeing rapid improvements.
“There are opportunities galore for Aboriginal businesses and we are finding new businesses are popping up or migrating into the region,” Ms Jolliffe said.
“What has been really positive is we have a number of large players such as Northern Star, Mineral Resources, BHP, AngloGold Ashanti that are asking what our members do, because we will find something and directly engage them.”
The big miners in the Goldfields have a lot of catching up to do before they match the engagement of their peers in the Pilbara.
The three big iron ore miners in the Pilbara–Fortescue Metals Group, Rio Tinto and BHP–spent nearly $800 million last year with Aboriginal businesses, according to data they supplied to Business News.
By comparison, the biggest company in the Goldfields, Northern Star Resources, is by its own admission coming off a very low base but keen to do more.
For the first time it has set a target for spending with Indigenous businesses: the target is a modest $20 million a year from FY24.
Another big player seeking to lift its engagement with Aboriginal businesses is Mineral Resources, which recently struck a three-year deal to be principal sponsor of the Goldfields Aboriginal Business Chamber.
Another positive for the sector is the state and federal governments’ Aboriginal procurement policies, which set targets for purchases from Aboriginal businesses.
Successes
Aboriginal businesses in the Goldfields can draw inspiration from the success of a handful of long-running operators.
Carey Group, now based in Perth, was established 26 years ago in the northern Goldfields.
It still works for its foundation client, AngloGold Ashanti’s Sunrise Dam mine, and has grown to have 350 staff, making it one of Western Australia’s largest Aboriginal businesses.
Founder Daniel Tucker recently teamed up with Glen Weir’s CPC Engineering to establish a joint venture, First Nation Engineering, that will target work with tier-one miners.
The joint venture is majority Aboriginal owned and will bring together Carey’s earthworks and civil contracting experience with CPC’s design, construction and maintenance services.
Another long-running operator in the northern Goldfields is Bundarra Contracting, established in 2001 by Brett Lewis and Patricia Lewis.
It has provided earthworks, construction and haulage services at projects such as Aeris Resources’ Jaguar mine, BHP’s Mt Keith and Leinster mines, Gold Fields’ Agnew mine and Liontown Resources’ Kathleen Valley lithium project.
The Lewis family’s success has flowed to the next generation.
Their daughters, Rowena Leslie and Katrina Stubbs, have established Kai Rho Contracting.
Ms Leslie said running a business came naturally to her and Katrina.
“That’s the environment we grew up in, seeing Aboriginal people in business and working for the mining industry,” she said.
“It was a fairly easy transition for us.”
Like many Aboriginal businesses, Kai Rho began as a dry hire machinery company, starting with a single water cart.
It has grown to have its own fleet of machinery and a team of experienced operators, with 14 full-time staff plus casuals.
Kai Rho has a five-year services contract at AngloGold Ashanti’s Tropicana mine and has also worked for iron ore miner Fenix Resources and contractors such as DM Roads and Highway Construction.
Ms Leslie praised the role played by Main Roads WA, saying the government agency had been proactive in supporting Aboriginal business growth.
Ms Leslie is the founding chair of the Goldfields Aboriginal Business Chamber, which she said was established to raise awareness of Aboriginal businesses in the region and to help its members grow.
She was encouraged by the sector’s development but said there was a long way to go.
“You need to have people to lead the change,” Ms Leslie said.
“If they lead the way, other people should follow.
“In the Goldfields they are few and far between, but there are changes I can see happening.”
She said she still encountered people who were wary of signing up an Aboriginal contractor.
“If we can have direct conversations with people and have more engagement, we can start to break down stereotypes,” Ms Leslie said.
Another emerging business is Indigenous Personnel and Training, led by Linden Brownley.
Mr Brownley established IPT with his three brothers, saying collectively they have about 40 years’ experience in mining and construction.
Mr Brownley said the business name was very carefully chosen.
“We want to work with, and make a difference in the lives of, Aboriginal people generally,” he said.
IPT currently employs 11 local Aboriginal people at Lynas Rare Earths’ $500 million processing plant under construction on the outskirts of Kalgoorlie.
Mr Brownley said he approached the opportunity in a very businesslike manner.
“We didn’t go there to wave the ESG [environmental, social and corporate governance] flag or Native Title or that we are traditional owners,” he said.
“We told them we’re a company that happens to be owned and operated by Aboriginal people.
“We [tell them] what we have done in the past and what we can do for them.
“To us, that’s important.” Mr Brownley also recognised the opportunity created by COVID lockdowns, vaccine mandates and Kalgoorlie’s accommodation crisis, which had made it harder to get fly-in, fly-out workers.
“One other thing we pitched was that we can get [companies] workers they don’t have to fly over, don’t have to house, we will get the workers for them,” Mr Brownley said.
A common theme among the successful Aboriginal businesses is the provision of training and mentoring.
Mr Brownley said many of the people working with IPT used to be on the cashless welfare card.
“There is a change that is taking place, socially,” he said.
“These are people that are no longer dependent on government support; they are working six days a week earning their own income.
“You can see the change in their families and in their themselves.”
He is keen to see Aboriginal people working in white-collar roles and as process technicians, not just lower-level blue collar jobs.
“We want to grow with Lynas, as they go from construction into processing,” Mr Brownley said.
“We are looking ahead at how we can train people. Mr Brownley is positive about the opportunities.
“It’s a good time to be a black fella. When you look at what our forefathers had to go through, and how they suffered, we have definitely got it much easier,” he said.
Aboriginal businesses across the Goldfields recently gained a further boost when the WA government announced $165,000 of grants to 11 organisations.
This included a $13,400 grant to the Goldfields Aboriginal Business Chamber to help it develop a strategic plan.
The recipients include a mix of startups and established businesses, with the latter including Tucker Dust and Diesel and Triodia Resources.
Duha Cleaning Services and D-MAC Mining also received grants.
They are among four Aboriginal businesses owned by Yilka Talintji traditional owners and were established with backing from mining contractor Downer (now MACA).
When Downer won the contract to run the Gruyere gold mine in the northern Goldfields in 2018, it partnered with consulting firm Indigenous Management Group to deliver commercial opportunities for the traditional owners.
The four businesses were awarded five-year contracts backed up with tailored business development programs, commercial support, and ongoing mentoring and management support.
Duha is led by Elizabeth Wyatt, who brought over 20 years’ experience in cleaning and catering.
Announcing the inaugural round of grants, Regional Development Minister Alannah MacTiernan said they were designed to help businesses realise their potential across mining, tourism, agriculture and services.
“This is important in ensuring our Aboriginal community is woven into the economic opportunities of the region,” she said.
