Rio Tinto, Juukan Gorge traditional owners sign deal after 2020 caves destruction

An Australian mining giant has inked a deal with traditional owners after the 2020 destruction of historic and sacred land.

The traditional owners of land destroyed by Rio Tinto’s explosives in 2020 have signed a management agreement with the mining giant.

“This is a groundbreaking and innovative agreement,” PKKP Aboriginal Corporation chairman Terry Drage said.

“I believe it will change the way mining is carried out, certainly in the Pilbara, and hopefully across Australia.

“The PKKP community have made it clear to me that they are not against mining, it just has to be undertaken in a culturally sensitive way, with traditional owners at the forefront.”

Rio Tinto executive Simon Trott and Pinikura traditional owner Terry Drage. Picture: Supplied

In May 2020, Rio Tinto destroyed the prized, 46,000-year-old Juukan Gorge in WA’s Pilbara region.

On Monday, the Puutu Kunti Kurrama and Pinikura Aboriginal Corporation announced it had signed a management agreement with Rio Tinto.

The agreement guarantees traditional owners “will receive certainty that our 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,” Mr Drage said in a statement.

The Juukan Gorge is one of the oldest known sites of Indigenous occupation. Picture: PKKP Corporation

Rio Tinto’s legal destruction of the heritage site in 2020 garnered international news coverage and sparked a federal parliamentary inquiry.

The inquiry concluded Rio Tinto “knew the value of what they were destroying but blew it up anyway”.

“Rio Tinto’s conduct reflects a corporate culture which prioritised commercial gain over the kind of meaningful engagement with traditional owners that should form a critical part of their social licence to operate,” the final report said.

The Western Australian government was already drafting new Indigenous heritage laws when the two caves were destroyed. The state government, under considerable pressure from the farming and resources sectors, then backflipped and revoked the laws just five weeks after they took effect in 2023.

Simon Thompson resigned as Rio Tinto chairman after the incident. Picture: NewsWire / Sharon Smith

Rio Tinto has been paying a PKKP Aboriginal Corporation-linked charity undisclosed amounts since the caves were destroyed. The dollar figure has been kept secret to avoid putting a price on heritage.

On Monday, Rio Tinto iron ore chief executive Simon Trott again admitted the blasting of the caves was a mistake.

“Our actions were wrong. We failed to uphold our company values, and our systems and processes were inadequate,” he said.

“Simply put, it should never have happened, and for that we will forever be sorry.”

The First Nations corporation had graciously educated Rio Tinto, he said.

“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,” Mr Trott said.

The two Juukan caves had been cared for by the Puutu Kunti Kurrama and Pinikura/Binigura people for more than 40,000 years.

The shelters had been archaeologically excavated multiple times and contained a high number of artefacts and stone tools, preserved human hair, and pollen sediments that mapped thousands of years of ecological history.

Originally published as Rio Tinto, Juukan Gorge traditional owners sign deal after 2020 caves destruction