PERTH (miningweekly.com) – Diversified giant BHP on Tuesday said that it was assessing vaccination against Covid-19 as a condition of entry into the company’s workplaces in Australia.

BHP president Minerals Australia Edgar Basto said that the company was continually reviewing the status and effectiveness of Covid-19 controls in line with the latest scientific evidence and expert health advice.

“The science is clear that widespread vaccination saves lives.

“As vaccinations become more accessible to all Australians, we have been encouraging our people to better protect themselves and their families and communities, and we will look for further opportunities to increase access and uptake of vaccinations.

“As a necessary control to protect the health and safety of our people and the communities where we operate, we are actively assessing vaccination as a condition of entry to our Australian sites and offices,” Basto said.

“We have an obligation to ensure our people are safe when they are at work, and to support the health of the regional communities where we operate. We respect individual choice and we will engage closely with our people as we move forward with this work.”

BHP expects to complete its technical assessment in September, with a policy likely to come into effect in early 2022, once people have had a reasonable opportunity to be fully vaccinated.

Meanwhile, the company has also started trialling workplace-based vaccinations this week as it steps up its contribution to Australia’s road to recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic.

The trial, the Australian resources sector’s first official pilot supported by the National Covid-19 Vaccination Taskforce, will be conducted at the Mt Arthur coal mine in New South Wales’ Upper Hunter region.

As part of its broader support for national vaccinations, BHP is also funding a new vaccine hub in Moranbah which opened to the Central Queensland community from Monday, is working with the South Australian Health Department to establish a mobile clinic at Olympic Dam to help bolster vaccination rates in the Roxby Downs region, and is working with the Western Australian Health Department to support vaccine roll-outs in the Pilbara region.

The new measures are in addition to the controls that have been in place in BHP workplaces since the start of the pandemic, to protect people and communities and keep operating safely.

“We have to work together in the fight against the Covid-19 Delta strain in Australia, and we are determined to play our part,” Basto said.

“In line with the road map agreed by National Cabinet, we recognise that the path forward is through widespread vaccination, and we are looking at a range of practical ways to help Australia safely reopen its borders and its economy while protecting communities and workforces.

“The measures we already have in place are helping to keep our people safe and our operations running, and we hope our trials and broader programme of support will help Australia take further steps forward in tackling the virus.

“Getting more Australians vaccinated more quickly will help protect communities and enable a safe return to more normal ways of working across all sectors and regions – benefiting small and large businesses alike.

“Our experience in our Chilean operations, where workplace and community vaccination hubs have helped get local vaccination rates to nearly 90%, show it can be done well.”