MACH Energy Australia oversees commitments relating to the ACDF with the fund among the community benefits identified in 2005 as part of a Native Title Agreement with the Wonnarua People, as represented by Victor Perry. 

Established in 2006, the ACDF had a starting account of $500,000, which is indexed against CPI each year. 

Since that time, the fund has invested more than $4 million into projects that benefit Upper Hunter Aboriginal communities. 

The existing ACDF expires in 2026. 

Friday’s launch attended by the ACDF committee and chairperson Deirdre Heitmeyer will enable Aboriginal adults, 18 years and older, living in the Upper Hunter to visit Singleton Dental Care for general dental procedures, from cleaning through to extraction. 

Dentist and owner Dr Manuel Velarde has been living and practising dentistry in Singleton at Singleton Dental Care since 1998. 

“Moving to Singleton was one of the best decisions of my life, enabling me to own my own practice, work with wonderful staff and have the most incredible patients,” he said.

“I feel blessed by the commitment of my staff and the loyalty my patients have to Singleton Dental Care.”

The mining corporation welcomes the opportunity the ACDF provides for it to make a meaningful contribution to the sustainability and well-being of Aboriginal communities in the Upper Hunter.

MACH Energy is a private Australian company that was established to acquire the world-class Mount Pleasant thermal coal project, near Muswellbrook, from Rio Tinto. 

MACH completed the acquisition of Mount Pleasant in 2016 and began construction of the project later that year. 

MACH is a subsidiary of Droxford International Limited, part of the Salim Group.