Mining company Adani has changed the name of its Australian operation to a Latin word that means “crooked”, “deformed”, “mercenary or assassin”, after mistakenly thinking that it meant “brave”, reported The Guardian.
The rebranding comes as the company faces opposition from climate change activists, as their operations in Carmichael coalmine in central Queensland came under scrutiny.
On Thursday, 5 November, the company announced that its Australian operation will be called “Bravus”. According to the report, the chief executive David Boshoff explained that the name in medieval Latin word meant “courageous”.
In an interview to Australian Financial Review, Boshoff said the name was a good fit because it “took a lot of courage to get where we are and we will stand up for what we believe in”.
Experts however disagreed. According to them, “bravus” does not mean “brave” and is more accurately translated as “crooked” or “mercenary”.
The Guardian quoted Dr Christopher Bishop, from the Australian National University’s centre of classical studies, saying: “They are wrong. It would have to be something like ‘fortis’, for brave, if you are going for your classical. You know, something like ‘fortuna favet fortibus – fortune favours the brave’. That’s a schoolboy thing – everyone knows that.”
Bishop added the closest relative to “bravus” was the medieval Latin word “bravo” – a noun meaning a “mercenary”, “assassin” or “sword for hire”.
A spokeswoman for Adani/Bravus said the new name was “derived from the words ‘brave’ or ‘bold’.” “It includes the ‘us’ suffix, highlighting the inclusive nature of us the company, us the employees and us the community. It references the fact we are an Australian company by having the letters ‘AUS’ in the name. It signifies that we are proud to be an Australian company that is part of the North Queensland community.”
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