Rio Tinto and PKKP Aboriginal Corporation keep Juukan Gorge compensation amount secret
The compensation paid by Rio Tinto to the traditional owners of the Juukan Gorge rock shelters may never be known after both parties agreed to keep the terms of a new agreement secret.
The total compensation paid by Rio Tinto to the traditional owners of the Juukan Gorge rock shelters may never be known after both parties agreed to keep the terms of a new agreement secret.
There had been speculation that Rio could end up paying up to $250m to the Puutu Kunti Kurrama and Pinikura people, following the 2020 detonation of the caves, but the miner will now put an unspecified amount into a new Juukan Gorge Legacy Foundation.
In a statement, PKKP Aboriginal Corporation chair Burchell Hayes said the foundation would focus on social and economic programs including education and training, business development and heritage preservation.
He said the foundation funding should not be considered compensation.
“Nothing can compensate for or replace the loss suffered at Juukan Gorge, so this is an outcome-orientated legacy to ensure something positive will come from it for years to come,” Mr Hayes said.
Rio’s blasting of the caves in May 2020 sparked a global outcry and ultimately led to the departure of senior management, including chief executive JS Jacques.
Archaeological excavations at the cave before they were destroyed had unearthed artefacts such as charcoal and bones indicating the site had been inhabited as long as 46,000 years ago.
The area had been earmarked for mining as part of Rio’s Brockman 4 mine, and had been approved under West Australian Aboriginal heritage laws that have since been changed. The ore in the area around Juukan Gorge had a net present value of $US135m at the time the area was earmarked for mining, but the market value of the ore had climbed to around $800m by the time the blasting occurred.
Current Rio chief executive Jakob Stausholm said the company and the PKKP were also discussing a new approach to co-management of Country as well as the ongoing rehabilitation of the rock shelters and their surrounds.
“We fell far short of our values as a company and breached the trust placed in us by the PKKP people by allowing the destruction of the Juukan Gorge rock shelters,” Mr Stausholm said. “As we work hard to rebuild our relationship, I would like to thank the PKKP people, their elders, and the Corporation for their guidance and leadership in forming this important agreement.”
Cultural heritage and native title legal expert Jack Cullity, the founder of Mining + Heritage Legal, said the decision to keep the dollar figure secret was the right one.
“It sends a message to industry that it really is about the cultural heritage and not about the money,” he said, adding the bigger cost to both Rio and the broader mining industry would come in the form of stronger cultural heritage regimes at both state and federal level.
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