Published on Friday, 3 December 2010 at 12:00:00 AM
The Hon Wendy Duncan MLC, Member for the Mining and Pastoral Region, was in Tom Price this week to officially launch the Ashburton Aboriginal Corporation’s (ACC) Biodiesel Plant alongside Rio Tinto’s Greg Lillyman.
Ms Duncan said that the Royalties for Regions funded $145,000 towards the operation. It would provide long term Indigenous employment as well as industrial skills training which will assist people to move into employment in the mining sector.
“AAC has a supply agreement with Rio Tinto to supply between 5000 and 7000 litres per week of bio fuel which will be used for drilling and blasting at their Tom Price mine” said Ms Duncan.
“Profits from the Biodiesel Plant will stay within the indigenous communities of the Pilbara, which will enable further funding for social and economic development” said Ms Duncan.
While at the Tom Price, Ms Duncan was assisted by AAC’s Doreen James in planting a Moringa tree. A four acre plantation of the trees is being trialed for bio diesel production with irrigation from mine
dewatering.
Ms Duncan said that Royalties for Regions had contributed $150,000 towards the planting project which would determine if Moringa crops can produce an economically viable biodiesel.
Ms Duncan said that successful community partnership between the AAC and Rio Tinto would mean that used cooking oil from mines will also be collected and converted to bio diesel fuel, adding to the projects long term viability.
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