Rio Tinto finalizes historic deal with Juukan Gorge group

Global mining firm Rio Tinto has reached a restitution deal with an Aboriginal group whose rock shelters in Western Australia it destroyed two years ago for an iron ore mine.

The destruction of the Juukan Gorge sites that showed evidence of human habitation stretching back into the last Ice Age 46,000 years ago caused deep distress to the traditional owners, the Kurrama, Puutu Kunti, and Pinikura (PKKP) peoples.

It also fueled a global uproar, cost three senior leaders and two board members their jobs, a parliamentary inquiry, and an overhaul of the mining industry’s agreements with Australian Aborigines.          

The two groups are in advanced talks about the co-management of the mining agreement, the PKKP added.

Rio Tinto’s CEO, Jakob Stausholm, said the mining group fell far short of its values as a company and breached the trust placed in the miner by the PKKP people by allowing the destruction of the Juukan Gorge rock shelters.

In a separate statement, Stausholm said as the miner work hard to rebuild their relationship, he wanted to thank the PKKP people, their elders, and the Corporation for their guidance and leadership in forming this important agreement.

In addition to the legacy foundation, remedy discussions have centered on ongoing rehabilitation of the rock shelters and their surroundings at Juukan Gorge, the global miner said.