From stop to start: Adani celebrates 10 years

Adani Australia

In 2020, Adani Australia marked 10 years since purchasing the greenfield Carmichael Coal tenements in Central Queensland’s Galilee Basin.

Backed by a team of dedicated Australian staff, the company now has operations in solar, port, and of course the construction of the Carmichael Mine and Rail Project.

Remembering beginnings

The EIS process began in October 2010, and the Adani team in Australia wanted to have Queensland coal on a ship to India sometime in 2014.

However, this was not as straightforward as first imagined – with consistent legal hurdles presented by activist groups and a delayed approvals process through political turmoil, among other things. The story of Adani’s first ten years in Australia celebrates the strength of individual and collective character, of regional communities and of the resolve and spirit of the people who live in those communities. It celebrates how Adani has stayed true to its purpose and promise to supply Queensland coal to developing countries as part of a responsible and sustainable energy strategy, while supporting communities and economic growth in regional Australia.

Delivering on the promise

12 months on from final approvals, the Carmichael Mine and Rail project is moving ahead with speed. Construction of the Carmichael Project’s roads, railway, accommodation camps and mine infrastructure has been completed or is well underway. Workers from Townsville and Rockhampton arrive daily by air to the new Labona airstrip. The company’s ability to see off the activists’ challenges over the last decade rested to a large extent on the common sense of everyday Australians. They could see through the myths the activists used to distort the facts.

In return, three years on from the launch of its innovative regional content strategy, Adani has made concrete the promise of jobs, skills and economic strength for regional Queensland. More than 2,000 people have been employed and more than AUD1.5 billion of contracts have been awarded to like-minded individuals, small businesses and large organisations in just over 12 months since the project’s final approvals were granted.

In the decade since Adani started investing in Australia the company has encountered many naysayers, opposition voices and challenges regarding governance, legal and environmental approvals.

Those contracts, many delivered during the coronavirus health and economic crisis, recognise and harness regional Queensland’s world-class mining equipment, technology and services credentials. Among the skilled contracting firms to sign up to deliver the Carmichael Project are the likes of BMD Group, Martinus, Wagners, Mendi Group, G&S Engineering and Stresscrete. Against this backdrop of construction, Adani has consolidated its port-operations business. A record 31.96 million tonnes of coal was transported through the Port of Abbot Point in the 2019/20 fiscal year. The 65MW Rugby Run solar farm also continued to harness the Queensland sun and power local businesses and homes while demonstrating the efficiency and reliability of the technology. In the decade since Adani started investing in Australia the company has encountered many naysayers, opposition voices and challenges regarding governance, legal and environmental approvals. Adani has overcome these challenges to build its Carmichael Mine and Rail Project and deliver on the promise of jobs and opportunities for regional Queenslanders.

A new brand for the mining business

To mark the ten-year anniversary of operations in Australia, Adani launched a new brand for their Australian mining business, Bravus Mining & Resources. With construction of the Carmichael Project well underway, the time was right to give Adani’s mining business its own Australian brand. “Bravus is proud to be a dedicated Australian company that is part of the north and central Queensland community, and we will continue to stand up and deliver for the good of our community, no matter how courageous it requires us to be,” said Bravus Mining & Resources CEO David Boshoff, as the brand was launched in November. The launch of the brand coincided with an announcement of Bravus’s Platinum partnership with the North Queensland Cowboys, as another symbol of dedication to the regional Queensland community. The new Bravus name will be rolled out over the next year, as the company heads towards producing first coal in 2021. 

Adani Mining is now