Aurelia Opens Community Hub in Cobar

On 26 October 2024, we were delighted to officially open a Community Hub shop front in Cobar.

The community and employees were invited to walk through the space before festivities kicked off at 9.30am. Balloons and cupcakes were on offer before the official opening and ribbon cutting. A children’s colouring competition was held to celebrate the opening, with entries available at the Aurelia tent at the Festival of the Miner’s Ghost markets following the opening.

With a 14-year mine life for existing operations, and on the cusp of decline development commencing at its Great Cobar Project, the Community Hub solidifies Aurelia’s ongoing long-lasting positive relationship with the Cobar community.

On the eve of the opening, General Manager Cobar Region, Angus Wyllie spoke about the importance of the Community Hub for Aurelia’s future in the region.

“As the signage on our Hub says, the community is our future. And operationally, Aurelia’s short-term future is our Great Cobar Project,” Angus said.

“We will be developing the decline from our existing infrastructure at New Cobar and proceeding underground. There will be some potential impacts as we move closer to town and we want to make sure the community is aware of, and prepared for, those impacts. The Community Hub will be a platform to proactively engage and consult with our community ahead of our development at Great Cobar, and any future growth plans.

“The Community Hub highlights how we value ‘Care’ and exemplifies our commitment to operating in the Cobar Region for years to come,” Angus concluded.

Senior Environment and Community Advisor, Laura Newton went on to speak about the purpose of the Community Hub and what the community can expect of the space.

“The Hub will help us solidify our connection with the Cobar community. If anyone has any questions about what we do at Aurelia, what our future growth plans are, or are curious about the mining process, we encourage them to come to the Hub and have a chat with our friendly employees,” Laura said.

“Our Community Consultative Committee meetings will now be held at the space, and applications for support through our Peak Donations Committee will be available from the Hub. Our employees will also be on hand to assist new and current employees with onboarding, provide IT assistance, accommodation and travel requests, and online training,” Laura concluded.

Angus and Laura closed by thanking the Aurelia Team who were involved in the Community Hub project from inception to opening day last weekend.

“An incredible amount of effort from a vast and dedicated cross functional group, led by the Environment and Community Team, has gone into the development and opening of our Community Hub last weekend. I want to thank everyone for their efforts and unwavering vision to bring this project to life,” Angus said.

“As someone who has a long family history in Cobar, this project has been rewarding, professionally and personally. I want to thank everyone from Aurelia and our community who were involved in this project. I look forward to the positive impacts the Community Hub will have for our relationship with our community now and into the future,” Laura said.

Follow this link to our Media Centre to watch a video of the opening.