A Great start to fifo from Exmouth

Rio Tinto have created a good deal of buzz this year with their plan to use Exmouth as a base for fly-in fly-out workers to their Paraburdoo mining operations. This is a move that has been welcomed by both the Exmouth community and others keen to relocate to this fabulous location. As the first large mining company to begin FIFO from Exmouth it is interesting to see the process undertaken to get this initiative off the ground.

Earlier in the year some behind the scenes action by the Exmouth Chamber of Commerce and Industry and the Exmouth Shire saw talks begin with Rio Tinto. In these meetings Exmouth was promoted as a viable human resource pool of workers for Rio's Pilbara operations. Both the Shire and the Chamber had recognised that there existed a potential FIFO workforce already located in Exmouth. It was also evident to see a fabulous work life balance that these workers could enjoy by flying the short distance to the mines and then enjoying their free time and all the wonderful Exmouth attractions with their families on their return.

In order to demonstrate the large number of people interested in this opportunity the Chamber undertook a confidential scoping survey to gather the number of interested parties. Registrations began to flood in from people who were keen to know more about this initiative. By the conclusion of the survey, around 200 people had signed up. Respondent locations and comments indicated that a great deal of Exmouth locals and also people from all over Australia were very keen to see Exmouth become a FIFO base.

After presentation of this information Rio Tinto headed to Exmouth to hold a briefing session at the Novotel Ningaloo. This information evening saw well over 200 people attend to the point where about 40 were unable to fit into the room. The Exmouth Chamber of Commerce and Industry and the Exmouth Shire Council were delighted with the interest shown and steps are being taken to encourage residential operations from Exmouth. East Pilbara employees of Rio Tinto will be able to transfer to Exmouth in accordance with normal Rio Tinto procedures.

Following the session Rio Tinto made 21 positions available to Exmouth residents and received over 80 applications. The successful applicants began flying Skywest Airlines on a Fokker 100 aircraft to and from Paraburdoo at the end of November. The shift, known as the lifestyle shift, is 8, 6, 7 and 7. Seats have also been made available on the aircraft for regular passenger transit and will therefore allow an exchange of tourist and holiday passengers between the Ningaloo World Heritage area to Karijini National Park, adjacent to Paraburdoo.

In their announcement Rio Tinto stated that they project 50 or more people will be flown between Exmouth and Paraburdoo in the near future as more jobs become available. It is expected that the other Rio Tinto mine operations are likely to join the program.