A Christmas message from our President

?? A message from our President, Kyle De Souza??

Goan fish curry ?

Cloudy Bay Sauv Blanc ?

18 month old asleep ?

Boney M Christmas soundtrack ?

Talk about a sprint to the finish line…except the finish line kept on moving and my chicken legs just managed to carry me over the line. Not sure about you, but 2024 well and truly emptied my tank – and I am ready to switch off!

One of the best words of advice one of my mentors (Colin McIntyre – another WASM legend) gave me was “You need to learn how to switch off in this game”. And he tells me that every time we catchup. It’s a strange and wonderful industry we work in, but the reality is, can we really ever “switch off” in 2024? So I try and focus on one thing in special periods like Christmas – being actively present.

And this Christmas it’s even more important I try and remain present. Last year my daughter was just 9 months old and wasn’t really doing much outside of being cute. But this year, she’s running around, laughs at my dad-jokes (even though she has little to no clue what they mean), can say a few words (her favourite word is “no”), and she is picking up on my moods, my behaviours and language like never before. And whilst this has brought immense joy like I have never experienced in my life before – it has also made me reflect on my behaviour at work, and how easy it is for my energy to influence the people around me.

For some, this will be a time to celebrate. For some, it will be a time to rest. Some of you might not celebrate it at all. For some, it will be the quiet reflection on those who are no longer with us. For some it will be trying to keep teams safe onsite. For some of you, it's just another thing that puts stresses on your financial situation. For some of you, it’s a time which makes you think about bigger changes in your life.

Whatever your situation, and the situation your team members find themselves in, I hope you find time for peace in the chaos of it all – and most of all, find time to be present for each other in a world full of distractions and uncertainty.

I thought I’d share a few things my team and I used to do to make it a little bit more fun over Christmas;

?? Making at least one trip underground, or into the pit during the course of the day. I used to take an esky full of soft-drinks with me too. Fair to say, no one got hurt on Christmas, but we got a few laughs and bonded a little more with the team.????

?? We (management) would bring anyone up to the surface that wanted to speak to family. That ‘chauffeur’ service was done by the full management team onsite.

?? Everyone was out of the mine by 2:30pm, firing at 3pm so we could all be at dinner at the same time at 5pm. Dinner was with both the day-shift and night-shift together at one of my sites – this was a truly special one.

?? Boxing day, shift started at 9am so that everyone got a little bit of extra sleep. We had a lot of foreigners onsite too, so this late start also accommodated the later calls they would have to make to loved ones on the other side of the planet.

2024 has been one of the most successful years for our Alumni and we have a HUGE line-up of events in 2025. That being said, we could not have done it without the support of all of our sponsors, and I want to give a special shoutout to our Platinum Sponsors, Curtin University, Northern Star Resources and Sandvik for your commitment to the work we do, and to all our other sponsors, large and small for the contribution you have made to this special community.

I hope you have a safe, joyful, and Merry Christmas, and I hope that 2025 brings you hope, love, health and wealth.

Your Councillors, Johanna and I are looking forward to seeing you all again in 2025.

With best wishes

Kyle De Souza