Indigenous contracting business Civil Road & Rail SX5 has taken delivery of a Cat D10T2 dozer for mine rehabilitation services in the Pilbara, WA.
Civil Road & Rail SX5 is part of the broader SX5 Group of companies.
It is a partnership between Eastern Guruma group director and senior elder Kenzie Smith and SX5 Group directors Ralph and Cherie Keller.
The Cat D10T2 dozer is supplied by authorised Cat dealer WesTrac.
The dozer features onboard technologies to drive greater efficiency, productivity, and fuel economy, as well as improved operator safety and comfort.
This will support sustainable operations when it comes to rehabilitation work.
According to the SX5 Group, the act of rehabilitating the land has grown in significance over recent years.
“We’re making things green again, making Country feel better,” SX5 Group director Ralph Keller said.
“In repairing Country, we’re helping repair the trust and relationships with the region’s Traditional Owners.”
It is critical for miners, including as their suppliers and service providers, to understand the importance of working with the Traditional Owners on whose country they operate.
“The world needs miners to supply the mineral resources required for a more sustainable future, and that means we need to support sustainable mining initiatives,” WesTrac general manager Cameron Callaway said.
Working with the Traditional Owners of the land will help ensure continual improvement in environmental, social and governance outcomes.
“Drawing on the knowledge of Traditional Owners and the expertise of knowledgeable, experienced Indigenous organisations such as SX5 is a key aspect of that,” Callaway said.
The D10T2 is also equipped with technology to enable remote and semi-autonomous operations.
According to Ralph Keller, technology has been key to SX5’s success, and support from Indigenous Business Australia (IBA), has made it possible for the group to continue to purchase equipment with the latest machine control technologies.
“What makes us different is that SX5 continues to reinvent itself every day,” he said.
“It’s all about technology. That’s how you achieve excellence and how you mitigate risk.”
IBA, a commercially focused Federal Government organisation, supports First Nations businesses with cashflow and performance bond guarantees to enable business growth.
“Putting the regeneration of Country back in the hands of First Nations companies like SX5 is smart business and we’re so glad to support their efforts,” IBA chief executive officer said Kirsty Moore.
“SX5 is a great example of a First Nations business transforming its opportunities to work with big business – all while restoring Country and being trained in new technology.”
As well as being among the Traditional Owners of the land, Kenzie Smith’s family have had a long history of helping modern enterprises utilise and rehabilitate the land.
The family once helped break horses and muster cattle on the stations in the region and was permitted to gather any stock left behind to sell themselves.
SX5 was the brand applied to those stray cattle before they were taken to market.
That set the family on an entrepreneurial path that resulted in Kenzie helping to establish and run SX5’s contracting business.