By Melanie Burton
MELBOURNE (Reuters) – Mining giant Rio Tinto Ltd should negotiate a restitution package with the Indigenous Australians affected by its destruction of two ancient rock shelters to expand an iron ore mine, an inquiry panel said on Wednesday.
The panel released an interim report in which it also recommended Rio Tinto ensure a full reconstruction of the rock shelters at its own expense, and laid out broader industry guidance that included reviewing consent practices and a moratorium on mining in the affected places.
The parliamentary inquiry into the legal destruction of the 46,000-year-old Juukan Gorge rock shelter in May heard testimony from dozens of people and more than 140 submissions from miners, heritage specialists and Aboriginal and civil society groups.
The committee now aims to finish its report in the second half of 2021 once it has heard testimony from other states after COVID-19-related disruptions.
As well as castigating Rio on its failures, it proposed mining industry and legal reform.
“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,” it found.
The inquiry did not spell out what, if any, financial compensation Rio Tinto should pay to the traditional owners, the Puutu Kunti Kurrama and Pinikura people.
“I think the only risk is that Rio has to pay some form of restitution,” said analyst Glyn Lawcock of UBS in Sydney.
Even then, in the context of Rio Tinto’s $123 billion valuation, the amount was not likely to be material, although recommendations to overhaul legislation could result in delays to industry mine expansion plans in the years ahead, he said.
Western Australia supplies 55% of China’s iron ore needs.
Rio is also expected to announce its new chief executive any day, after Jean-Sbastien Jacques and two other senior leaders agreed to step down in August due to the procedural failings it found led to the disaster and the way it was initially managed.
(Reporting by Melanie Burton; Editing by Lincoln Feast.)
