BHP Mitsubishi Alliance (BMA) has struck a Native Title Project Agreement (NTPA) with the Barada Barna Aboriginal Corporation (BBAC) on behalf of the Barada Barna people in Australia.

This agreement encompasses BMA's operations across several mines in the Bowen Basin, including Broadmeadow, Caval Ridge, Goonyella Riverside, Peak Downs and Saraji.

The pact marks the second NTPA between BBAC and BHP in Queensland and the first between BMA and BBAC.

It paves the way for a new chapter in the relationship between BMA and the Barada Barna people, aimed at providing intergenerational benefits to the traditional owners of the land where BMA's mining activities take place.

Under the agreed terms, BMA will contribute financial benefits towards community priority projects.

These initiatives are designed to increase opportunities for Barada Barna people to live and work on their ancestral land, thereby reinforcing their vital connection to it.

Furthermore, the agreement promises to deliver financial advantages for socioeconomic purposes.

These include prospects in contracting, business, employment, education and training for the Barada Barna people.

The Barada Barna people hold native titles over an expanse of around 3,000km² in Central Queensland, an area integral to BMA's mining operations.

BHP Australia president Geraldine Slattery said: “Across Australia, the partnerships we seek with Traditional Owners, Cultural Knowledge Holders and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and communities are among the most important that we will ever share.

“This agreement is years and many voices in the making, and it reflects BHP’s aspirations and commitments to listen and to learn to get our practice right, to do better and to walk a new path, together.

“It is an agreement that has been created through good faith negotiation to deliver economic, social and cultural well-being.”