b'mine in Jwaneng, Botswana, spending five- to seven-week stints onsite. Our real strength lies in people and processestwo essentials that remain constant, no matter where we are or what were mining, he reflects. One striking aspect in Botswana was the immense pride Batswana [nationals] felt in their country, and their dedication to creating a lasting legacy through their work. We embraced that mindset, learning a lot about engaging with the community and aligning with their motivations. Our operations adhered to Australian benchmarks, and we mined with the same standards. The local team took great pride in this approach, and so did we.The company has had a presence in India for years, led by Leighton India. In 2018 there were six full-time employees, which increased to seventy-nine in 2023. There arent physical mining locations in the country, however the so-called India Hub serves a range of back office, cloud engineering, analysis and compliance work that benefits the entire group.Meanwhile, in 2020 the company built on its physical international presence by going further into Chile, then opening an office in the United States after winning its first contract there in 2022. Then we won a nickel mine contractin Indonesia, Matt continues. All the while, were still strongin Mongolia, too. Weve been there since 2009.Whether in the steppes of Mongolia, the jungles of Borneo or outback Western Australia, once onsite, mining is pretty much mining, Spencer Jose says. But you have to admire the early guys, like when Mongolia was just starting up. Guys would pay locals to keep their fire going during the night in the yurt to avoid freezing. These days all the big hotel chains are there,but they certainly werent twenty years ago.These days, Thiess has become a global business ratherthan a collection of international businesses loosely linked back to head office in Brisbane. Operations in seven countries and nine major offices are connected and unified behind a common strategy. Not bad when you think that nine decades ago, the Thiess brothers winning a contract all the way out of Toowoomba in Brisbane was a big deal.109'