For the most part, since the commencement of mining at Argyle, Aboriginal employment has comprised only a small fraction of the total (Figures 3.6 and 3.7). From the first intake of 14 Aboriginal workers in 1985, accounting for 2.5% of the workforce, the number of Aboriginal people employed on-site at Argyle, and their proportional share of total on-site employment, rose to an initial peak in the early 1990s, only to fall away again to relatively low levels by the end of the 1990s. However, since 1999, with the introduction of company plans to enhance Aboriginal employment at the mine, the numbers have steadily increased with an initial ADM target of having Aboriginal employees comprise 15% of the total by 2005 already exceeded by the end of 2003. In November 2003, the overall mine workforce had increased to 687, and fully 125 (18%) of these were Aboriginal (Figures 3.6 and 3.7). Part of this increase in both overall and Aboriginal numbers reflects the increased use of contracted labour from labour hire companies within the East Kimberley. At the end of 2003, a total of 101 on-site workers (including some trainees) were sourced from Kimberley Crane Hire, Kimberley Group Training, and Countryman Hire. All of these are hired locally, and one-third (34) were Aboriginal people. Presently, 61% of ADM employees at Argyle mine are fly-in/fly-out (FI/FO) workers and these are almost all non-Aboriginal.

This current situation represents the high watermark of Argyle operations over the past two decades in terms of workforce size and composition. Depending on the decision (due in 2005) to either proceed with the proposed underground mining operation, or to forgo this option and wind down pit production in 2007, finish processing in 2010, and then decommission the mine, future operations will look very different to those of the past 20 years. If underground mining proceeds, this will involve overlapping construction phases leading to underground production alongside an extension of pit operations. It will involve a rapid winding back of the FI/FO workforce to just 20% with the bulk of the workforce sourced locally from within the East Kimberley region (defined in wider terms than just the Northern East Kimberley as it is based on a radius of reasonable weekly roster commuting time and therefore extends to the area south of Halls Creek and as far west as Fitzroy Crossing). Within this restructuring plan, ADM aims to ensure that at least 50% of this locally-recruited workforce is made up of Aboriginal people.

Source: ADM Community Relations and Regional Business Development Units

Source: ADM Community Relations and Regional Business Development Units

As for the current ratio of local to non-local workers, in late 2001 the ADM Community Relations department conducted a survey of its Aboriginal mine workforce and determined that 71% were local workers from within the Northern East Kimberley region (20% from Wyndham, 25% from Kununurra, 21% from Halls Creek, 3% from Warmun, and 3% from Wuggabin). The remaining 29% were from the West Kimberley and Perth. Thus, at the time of the 2001 Census, total Aboriginal employment at the mine site was 48, and from the above ratio 34 of these can be estimated to have been locally sourced (Table 3.6). In line with company efforts to recruit locally, by November of 2003 the ratio of local to non-local Aboriginal workers had risen from 71% to 95% (Table 3.6).

The current mine workforce can be divided into four broad activity areas: asset management, production mining, production processing, and miscellaneous operational support areas such as security, health and safety, planning, and training (Table 3.7). Almost half of all Aboriginal employees (excluding contracted labour) are in production mining jobs, especially in loading and hauling. The remainder are scattered across the employment spectrum, though with some emphasis on asset management jobs such as maintenance. This focus on loading and hauling represents a much greater concentration of Aboriginal employment as these activities account for only 28% of non-Aboriginal employment.

The future size and composition of the site-based workforce under the proposed underground mining phase is currently in design and subject to constant revision as uncertainties regarding work roles, shift lengths, and roster requirements are variously clarified. If the decision is made to proceed, the period between 2005 and 2012 will see substantial variation in workforce numbers with peaks and troughs evident before greater stability in workforce levels resumes with the focus solely on underground production and ore processing through to 2020. As Aboriginal employment targets are based on a proportional share of the total workforce, eventual numbers arising from these developments, if they occur, are equally uncertain at this point. However, as noted, the guiding principle is that at least half of the locally-sourced site-based workforce will be Aboriginal. On current indications (end of 2003), the size of the locally-sourced workforce by around 2013 will be in the region of 320 at 80% of the likely total workforce, and this will be a fairly steady figure throughout the rest of that decade. If half of these were Aboriginal this would translate into some 160 Aboriginal site-based workers. Compared to just 34 Aboriginal workers in 2001, this represents a substantial numeric increase. From a regional development perspective, the question is what impact would such an increase have on regional labour force status?