Generous donation from staff at Tahmoor Colliery to assist bushfire affected community

The bushfires that hit the Wollondilly community at the end of 2019 and early 2020 caused devastating destruction and loss of life.

The impact of these fires deeply resonated with the staff at the Tahmoor Colliery, SIMEC Group as many live or have family who live within the Wollondilly Shire.

Peter Vale, General Manager Tahmoor Coking Coal Operations said, “While the mine has been operating for 40 years, it was felt this was one of the most severe challenges our community has faced.”

“The mine itself was under direct threat for several hours and we were ably assisted by local emergency services including the Rural Fire Service,” he said.

Thanks to the professionalism of the local emergency services and the RFS, there was limited damage to the mine and they were able to resume operations several days later. Every single employee was grateful to the emergency services but they also realised many of the community were not so lucky.

With an overwhelming desire to help in some small way, employees voted unanimously to support the Mayor’s Bushfire Relief Fund through a payroll donation.

In addition to the donations from the employees which added up to $15,600 over three months, SIMEC Group Executive Chairman and owner Sanjeev Gupta, visited the mine and local area with Mayor Matthew Deeth on Christmas Eve and personally donated $250,000 to the Mayor’s Relief fund.

At the time, Wollondilly Mayor Matthew Deeth expressed his heartfelt thanks on behalf of the Wollondilly community, saying “We acknowledge that this is a very generous contribution which will provide much needed support for those who need our help during these stressful times. SIMEC is one of our most significant local businesses so I am very pleased to see them make such an important gesture in support of local recovery”.

“These are our neighbours and friends, and seeing employees make personal contributions over a number of months shows amazing community spirit and demonstrates why Wollondilly is an amazing place to live,” he said.

Mr Vale said, “We are proud to be part of the community and hope our contribution helps in some small way to help Wollondilly rebuild as we look to the future.”