Rio Tinto CEO quits following Juukan Gorge controversy

Anglo-Australian mining company Rio Tinto's CEO Jean-Sébastien Jacques has announced he will be resigning in due course alongside two other corporate executives in what a company spokesman referred to as "a mutual agreement" following speculation that his job was hanging in the balance earlier this week.

The speculation started amid rumours of negligence on his and others' parts after they destroyed part of a 46,000-year-old cave complex in Juukan Gorge, Western Australia sacred to the indigenous population of Australia back in May.

Shareholders and the board of directors called for the axing of those involved after public opinion turned against them following the explosion.

The Church of England's pension board, which manages more than £2.8 billion ($AU 5 billion) in retirement funds, was purportedly one of the major backers in the board taking action against the company heads.

Jacques' departure was followed shortly after by iron ore head Chris Salisbury and head of corporate affairs Simone Nieven.

He is due to step down either once a replacement has been appointed or on March 31, whichever comes first.

Alongside news of the departures, Rio Tinto announced in a statement: “Significant stakeholders have expressed concerns about executive accountability for the failings identified."

The mining giant announced the last month that all three executives would lose their bonuses totalling around $7 million. However, many shareholders and members of the public felt the punishment for such negligence should be more severe.

They concluded in an internal review last month that there was “no single root cause or error that directly resulted in the destruction of the rock shelters,” causing an uproar, leading to the Australian Senate to launch their own investigation which is still ongoing.

However, insider documents revealed the company had hired dozens of lawyers in case the traditional owners, the Puutu Kunti Kurrama and Pinikura people, attempted to file an injunction to save the caves.

The Western Australia government has also agreed to update the archaic Indigenous heritage laws that allowed the incident to happen in the first place.

Jamie Lowe, chief executive of the National Native Title Council, who represent the traditional owners of the land welcomed the news of the executives losing their jobs.

Lowe said: “There needs to be a consistent theme of them showing that they are conscious of Aboriginal cultural heritage and its protection."

The Puutu Kunti Kurrama and Pinikura (PKKP) Aboriginal Corporation, who met with Jacques following the disaster, still declined to comment on the situation.

In a statement, they said: “We will continue to work with Rio Tinto in the aftermath of the Juukan Gorge disaster. Our focus continues to rest heavily on preserving Aboriginal heritage and advocating for wide-ranging changes to ensure a tragedy like this never happens again.

“We cannot and will not allow this type of devastation to occur ever again."

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