A new community-led hub focused on culture, connection and opportunity will be established in Leonora, with BHP and Nyunnga Ku Aboriginal Corporation announcing a $1.41 million investment in the Nyunnga Ku Regional Community Collective Hub.
Funding from BHP's $20 million WA Nickel Community Fund will help Nyunnga Ku Aboriginal Corporation establish a permanent home for community wellbeing, cultural strengthening and Indigenous-led enterprise, including a Men's Cultural Shed, native plant nursery and seed propagation business.
The initiatives will aim to support the delivery of ongoing services from a single location while creating employment and economic opportunities for local community members. The Regional Community Collective Hub will also bring together government agencies, service providers and local stakeholders under one roof to support community-led outcomes.
The announcement was made in Leonora, in Western Australia's Goldfields region, on Thursday.
Nyunnga Ku Aboriginal Corporation Chairperson and Founder Colleen Berry said Nyunnga Ku Aboriginal Corporation is "so grateful to BHP for this funding, which will enable us to achieve a vision that has been years in the making".
"This partnership will help create social, health and economic change for the community of Leonora and the surrounding region of the Northern Goldfields," she said.
BHP Vice President WA Nickel Annabelle Blom said the company understands "projects shaped by local people and guided by local priorities have the greatest impact - and that really strikes at the heart of the WA Nickel Community Fund".
"We're proud to support the Nyunnga Ku Regional Community Collective Hub, which will help deliver lasting social, cultural and economic benefits for the Leonora community," she said.
BHP said the $1.41 million investment forms part of the miner's broader commitment to the Goldfields region through the WA Nickel Community Fund, established in late 2024 to support communities during the temporary suspension of BHP's WA Nickel operations.
With facilities secured and the operating model in place, the investment aims to enable Nyunnga Ku Aboriginal Corporation to create "enduring pathways to improved health, skills development, employment and local economic diversification, delivering measurable community benefits now and into the future".
