Winchelsea will be an Aboriginal owned and operated mining venture.

Winchelsea Mining Pty Ltd (Winchelsea) is a joint venture between the Anindilyakwa Advancement Aboriginal Corporation (AAAC) and AUS China International Mining Pty Ltd.

It was established in 2018 and the project is part of a comprehensive economic strategy to enhance Groote’s Future Fund to maintain important economic, cultural and community programs for the island’s people permanently into the future. Winchelsea will be an Aboriginal owned and operated mining venture. The Groote Eylandt archipelago was declared the Anindilyakwa Operations Indigenous Protected Area (IPA) in 2006 and is administered by the Anindilyakwa Land Council (ALC). The IPA forms part of the National Reserve System established by the Federal Government to conserve unique landscapes, plant and animals.

Winchelsea Island is approximately 60km2 in size and lies less than 500m north of the much larger Groote Eylandt (where South 32 – Groote Eylandt Mining Company GEMCO) currently operates a world-class manganese mine.

The island is approximately 50km off the eastern coast of Arnhem Land, approximately 650km east southeast of Darwin and approximately 1,000km west northwest of Cairns.

Akwamburrkba falls within the Anindilyakwa Land Council (ALC) area with access to the island by boat from Groote Eylandt which is Australia’s third largest island with an area of 2, 285 km2. Under the Aboriginal Land Rights Act (NT) 1976, the Traditional Owners hold inalienable freehold title over the island.

The objectives of the Groote Archipelago Local Decision-Making Agreement include:

I. Identifying the services and priorities which the Anindilyakwa people wish to have control over, and to take responsibility for; and
II. Committing NT Government agencies and, where agreed in Implementation Plans, NT Government owned corporations, to collaborating with the ALC including sharing information, to agree on how this control will be achieved.

To view the Agreement, click here https://ldm.nt.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0008/791315/
galdm-agreement-edip.pdf