Mining giant apologises after blowing up Aboriginal caves
● Outrage after Rio Tinto destroys site dating back to the last Ice Age
giant Rio Tinto has apologised for blowing up 46,000-year-old Aboriginal caves in Western Australia dating back to the last Ice Age.
The Juukan Gorge caves, in the Pilbara region, were destroyed last Sunday as Rio Tinto expanded an iron ore project agreed with the authorities.
Many prehistoric artefacts have been found at the remote heritage site.
Rio Tinto said it was reviewing plans for other sites in the area.
The Anglo-australian multinational was granted approval for work at the Brockman 4 iron ore project in 2013, but subsequent archaeological excavation revealed ancient artefacts including grinding stones, a bone sharpened into a tool and 4,000-year-old braided hair. “We are sorry for the distress we have caused,” said Chris Salisbury, the firm’s iron ore chief executive.
“We pay our respects to the Puutu Kunti Kurrama and Pinikura People (PKKP),” he said. The PKKP are the traditional owners of the site.
“We will continue to work with the PKKP to learn from what has taken place and strengthen our partnership. As a matter of urgency, we are reviewing the plans of all other sites in the Juukan Gorge area.”
Artefacts found there include a belt made from human hair, analysis of which showed a direct link going back 4,000 years between the PKKP and the prehistoric cave-dwellers.
“Today we also recognise that a review is needed in relation to the management of heritage in Western Australia more broadly,” Mr Salisbury said.
Besides iron ore, the Angloaustralian giant has many mining interests in Australia, including bauxite for aluminium, diamonds and uranium.
On Saturday, The PKKP Abomining riginal Corporation rejected Rio Tinto’s suggestion its representatives had failed to make clear concerns about preserving the site during years of consultation between the two parties.
Spokesman Burchell Hayes said the claim was outrageous, saying Rio was told in October about the significance of the rock shelters and the company replied it had no plans to extend the Brockman 4 mine.
“The high significance of the site was further relayed to Rio Tinto by PKKPAC as recently as March,” Hayes said, adding that Rio did not advise of its intention to blast the area and the corporation “only found out by default on 15 May when we sought access to the area for NAIDOC Week in July”.
A PKKP representative, John Ashburton, said losing the site was a “devastating blow”.
“There are less than a handful of known Aboriginal sites in Australia that are as old as this one... its importance cannot be underestimated,” he said.
“Our people are deeply troubled and saddened by the destruction of these rock shelters and are grieving the loss of connection to our ancestors as well as our land.”
Australian minister for indigenous affairs Ken Wyatt, who is Aboriginal, said it was “incomprehensible” that the blast had gone ahead, but added that it appeared to be a “genuine mistake”.
State laws had failed in this instance, he said.
The state government hopes to pass its new Aboriginal Cultural Heritage Bill this year, although Covid-19 has delayed the consultation process.
“It will provide for agreements between traditional owners and proponents to include a process to consider new information that may come to light, and allow the parties to be able to amend the agreements by mutual consent,” Wyatt said.
Peter Stone, Unesco’s chair in cultural property protection and peace, said the archaeological destruction at Juukan Gorge was among the worst seen in recent history, likening it to Isis annihilating sites in the Syrian city of Palmyra.