Balancing interests, forging agreements: Helping stakeholders develop a mining agreement for a $1.7 billion project

OZ Minerals is an Australian mining company seeking to explore and mine modern minerals to contribute to a low-carbon future. The Ngaanyatjarra Council is an Aboriginal corporation that represents the interests of around 2,000 Ngaanyatjarra, Pintupi and Pitjantjatjara Traditional Owners (Yarnangu) in 11 communities in the Ngaanyatjarra Lands.

OZ Minerals was seeking to develop a copper and nickel mine in West Musgrave in remote Western Australia. It wanted to ensure the mine would have a positive impact on the local Aboriginal community, which is represented by the Ngaanyatjarra Council.

Nous was engaged to prepare three reports:

• A Social Impact and Opportunities Assessment that would provide an in-depth socioeconomic description of life on Ngaanyatjarra Lands. The report would function as a baseline against which future change could be measured and considered quality of life in six areas: economic, employment and business, education, health and wellbeing, crime and safety, and services, housing and infrastructure.
• A Social Impact Report that identified and prioritised 60 potential social impacts of the mine over the course of its 26-year life span. The report was designed to help both OZ Minerals and the community understand the likelihood of each impact, which areas were most likely to be impacted, and other potential consequences. ​Both positive and negative impacts were to be considered by the report.
• A Social Impact Management Plan, which recommended strategies to either mitigate the negative impacts of the mine or enhance the positive ones identified by the Impact Report.

Beyond the reports, we were also engaged to document Free, Prior and Informed Consent (FPIC), which refers to the right of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples to consent, on a free and informed basis, to developments that affect them and the lands on which they live.

“This involved a detailed review of all documents, engagements and meetings over a five-year period,” says Nous Manager Michael Hood, “confirming what had been discussed with Traditional Owners, when, where and how.”

“I loved the challenge of demonstrating that OZ Minerals had appropriately engaged with the Ngaanyatjarra people.”

To do this, in collaboration with OZ Minerals and the Ngaanyatjarra Council, we used bespoke engagement and consultation tools to facilitate meaningful engagement with more than 250 Indigenous community members across three different communities, as well as with many service providers.

This including meeting with more than half the population of Jameson, or Mantamaru, the community closest to the mine, which used to build an economic model of life on the Lands. We documented five years of decisions and consultations to demonstrate FPIC relating to roads, water, heritage, environment, living hubs, mine infrastructure, and energy.

“Our thoughtful, sensitive and culturally appropriate approach to engaging with Ngaanyatjarra people in their community was unique,” says Hood. “We met with people over picnics, ate kangaroo tails, camped out on Country to explain the Mining Agreement, and used plain-English, visuals, and easy to read materials to communicate ideas.“

We also developed a process through which Ngaanyatjarra people could actively and safely express their hopes and fears around the mine. These engagements formed the foundation of all the documents we went on to develop.

OZ Minerals and the Ngaanyatjarra Council further engaged Nous to provide extensive administrative support to develop the proposed Mining Agreement. Ultimately, we supported and delivered a three-day Open Meeting, where the Agreement was presented to the Ngaanyatjarra people.

This Open Meeting resulted in consensus and the Ngaanyatjarra people’s agreement, which was expressed by signing each person’s name on a canvas. Subsequently, OZ Minerals made a Final Investment Decision to proceed with a $1.7 billion investment in the West Musgrave Copper-Nickel Mining Project.

“It was critical that the mining project improve the cultural, health, economic and social outcomes, and the quality of life for Ngaanyatjarra people,” says Hood. “As such, it was important we understood what life looks like now, how to prioritise positive impacts and mitigate negative ones, and ensure the Ngaanyatjarra people understood the Mining Agreement before agreeing to it.”

OZ Minerals was acquired by BHP in 2023, after rgw conclusion of our engagement. Due to commence production in 2026, it was announced in 2024 that the West Musgrave project had been suspended due to oversupply in the global nickel market.