COVID-19 vaccinations will be administered at the Mt Arthur coal mine in New South Wales from Thursday.
It is the Australian resources sector's first official pilot program and it has the support of the National COVID-19 Vaccination Taskforce.
Given the ongoing outbreak in NSW, BHP has also deployed rapid antigen testing for the Mt Arthur workforce to help prevent COVID-19 cases on-site, with more than 5000 tests administered to date.
BHP is also funding a new vaccine hub in Moranbah which opened to the Central Queensland community yesterday, which will administer up to 500 vaccines per week.
The company is working with the South Australian Health Department to establish a mobile clinic at Olympic Dam to help bolster vaccination rates in the Roxby Downs region and is working with the Western Australian Health Department to support vaccine roll-outs in the Pilbara region.
"We have to work together in the fight against the COVID-19 Delta strain in Australia, and we are determined to play our part," BHP president Minerals Australia Edgar Basto said.
"In line with the road map agreed by National Cabinet, we recognise that the path forward is through widespread vaccination, and we are looking at a range of practical ways to help Australia safely reopen its borders and its economy while protecting communities and workforces.
"The measures we already have in place are helping to keep our people safe and our operations running, and we hope our trials and broader program of support will help Australia take further steps forward in tackling the virus.
"Getting more Australians vaccinated more quickly will help protect communities and enable a safe return to more normal ways of working across all sectors and regions - benefiting small and large businesses alike
"Our experience in our Chilean operations, where workplace and community vaccination hubs have helped get local vaccination rates to nearly 90%, show it can be done well."
BHP is also considering making vaccination a condition of entry to its sites in Australia.
"We have an obligation to ensure our people are safe when they are at work, and to support the health of the regional communities where we operate," Basto said.
"We respect individual choice and we will engage closely with our people as we move forward with this work."
BHP expects to complete its technical assessment in September, with a policy likely to come into effect in early 2022, once people have had a reasonable opportunity to be fully vaccinated.
