CITIC to pay millions to Indigenous group after failed Fed Court action

Chinese corporate giant CITIC looks likely to have to pay millions of dollars to a small Indigenous corporation in the Pilbara after a Federal Court found it had wrongly cut off funding to the group.

A haul truck at CITIC's Sino Iron operations.

Chinese corporate giant CITIC looks likely to have to pay millions of dollars to a small Indigenous corporation in the Pilbara after a Federal Court found it had wrongly cut off funding to the group some five years ago.

CITIC had been paying the Robe River Kuruma people annual compensation under a deal struck back in 2008 when the Chinese conglomerate was working to develop its big Sino Iron ­magnetite project southwest of Karratha.

Those payments had reached about $1.6m a year when CITIC – which is 58 per cent owned by the Chinese government – stopped making them in 2019 after a ­native title determination in the area.

The RRK was one of three groups that had lodged native title applications over the Sino Iron project area, with CITIC striking deals with two while it waited on a final determination to be made.

That native title determination ultimately awarded the vast bulk of the area to Yaburara Mardudhunera people.

The RRK were left with 0.24 per cent of the land it had applied for in the area, with the Federal Court finding that sliver of land sat “a very considerable distance away” from CITIC’s mining operations.

The CITIC Sino Iron magnetite project in Pilbara.

CITIC stopped the payments soon after, arguing that the compensation agreement had come to an end, given the final native title determination.

The RRK launched a legal action against it, with Federal Court judge Craig Colvin this month finding in its favour.

He ordered CITIC to pay RRK the past annual payments plus interest and costs.

Robe River Kuruma Aboriginal Corporation chair Kelly Slattery said withdrawal of the funding and the subsequent legal fight had caused a significant amount of stress for the organisation’s 400 members.

“Smaller groups like ourselves, we have limited resources to be able to pursue this in our legal system. When people don’t honour agreements, it causes a great deal of anxiety and frustration,” she said.

Ms Slattery was critical of CITIC’s decision to argue during the case that if compensation had to be paid, it should go to the YM people instead. That had prompted the YM to lodge an ultimately unsuccessful cross-claim in the dispute, which Ms Slattery said had damaged relations between the two groups.

“Those sorts of things have a much longer-lasting impact,” she said. “These are people that live in our communities as well, so when you see big corporations and big entities start to muddy the ­waters, that’s really disappointing.”

CITIC is weighing up whether to appeal against the decision. A spokesman for the company said it would carefully review the judgment.

“We have a longstanding positive and constructive relationship with the recognised native title group where our operations are located. We honour the terms and benefits delivered in this agreement and continue to explore opportunities for further collaboration,” he said. “Given the significant changes made over time to the original RRK native title claim area, a genuine question of law existed as to whether agreements in place with RRK remained relevant and appropriate.”

CITIC has endured a tumultuous time at Sino Iron.

What should have been a landmark Chinese investment in Australia’s resources industry has delivered a series of setbacks, overruns and legal battles.

CITIC had to fight a protracted, sprawling and ultimately unsuccessful years-long fight with Clive Palmer over the amount of royalties it owed to him from the project.