Nearly five years after Rio Tinto destroyed sacred rock shelters at Juukan Gorge in Western Australia’s Pilbara region, the miner has signed a “groundbreaking” agreement with the area’s Traditional Owners.
The PKKP Aboriginal Corporation and Rio Tinto have signed a Co-Management Agreement, covering all of the company’s iron ore operations on Puutu Kunti Kurrama and Pinikura Country — giving its Traditional Owners greater agency over activities undertaken on those lands.
The agreement will formalise how Rio Tinto engages on proposals affecting heritage and social surroundings throughout the mine lifecycle.
It will ensure knowledge-sharing and joint design is at the centre of the company’s operations on PKKP Country, so significant heritage is preserved and co-managed.
It also includes commitments for each party to work together earlier and throughout all stages of mining, from before exploration through to construction and operation, then closure using an agreed framework known as the Early Engagement Framework.
Pinikura Traditional Owner and PKKP Aboriginal Corporation chairperson Terry Drage said the agreement will give PKKP Traditional Owners more certainty that “important places on Country will be protected from mining, while at the same time Rio Tinto will receive certainty around where they can develop much earlier in the mine cycle.”
“Ultimately, this is good for us as Traditional Owners, and it is good for business,” he said.
In a statement, Rio Tinto said the agreement highlighted the company’s commitment to work together on the rehabilitation of the Juukan Gorge area.
“The destruction of the Juukan Gorge rock shelters on the 24th of May 2020 brought immeasurable pain to the PKKP and profoundly changed our company,” Rio Tinto iron ore chief executive Simon Trott said.
“Our actions were wrong. We failed to uphold our company values, and our systems and processes were inadequate. Simply put, it should never have happened, and for that we will forever be sorry.
“Through the open and gracious sharing of knowledge and experiences, the PKKP have helped to shape a renewed approach to managing cultural heritage protection and mining activities.”
