Rio Tinto's destruction of Juukan Gorge "inexcusable" say Australian lawmakers

An Australian parliamentary inquiry looking into the destruction of a 46,000-year-old sacred Aboriginal site by Rio Tinto has described the mining giant's actions as "inexcusable" and called for a freeze on all mining work that threatens indigenous heritage.

The interim report published earlier today into the destruction of the Juukan Gorge - which was the oldest site of its kind in the region with signs of continuous human occupation since the Ice Age - also called on mining companies to undertake independent reviews of existing agreements with traditional owners.

Rio Tinto blew up the site in May, against the wishes of the Puutu Kunti Kurrama and Pinikura (PKKP) people and despite studies which uncovered abundant evidence of the site's archaeological significance with around 7,000 artefacts being unearthed.

The blast was widely condemned in Australia and internationally, with the Responsible Mining Foundation calling it "a loss for humanity as a whole" and "another wake-up call" for the mining sector to respect cultural heritage.

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Some analysts have, however, warned that if the inquiry's recommendations are implemented by federal and state authorities it could mean delays to mine expansions in Western Australia. At present, there is at least AU$10 billion (€6.17 billion) in investments planned or underway in the iron ore sector alone.

The report also found that the site's traditional owners had been failed by the authorities by both state and federal governments, native title law and their own legal team.

However, the inquiry's harshest criticism was saved for Rio Tinto, which blew up the site to expand an iron ore mine in an area known for its abundance of iron ore and one that accounts for nearly 90% of the company's earnings.

"Rio Tinto’s role in this tragedy is inexcusable,” said the report. “Rio knew the value of what they were destroying but blew it up anyway. It pursued the option of destroying the shelters despite having options which would have preserved them.”

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Since the explosion and the subsequent deluge of negative media attention, Rio has been struggling to limit the damage to its reputation.

In September, a backlash by investors forced the resignation of CEO Jean-Sébastien Jacques and two other senior executives.

Both Rio Tinto and its main rival BHP have agreed to review approvals under Section 18 of the Aboriginal Heritage Act 1972 which gives miners the legal right to destroy indigenous sites. 

The Act, which was amended in 1995, does not contain provisions for consent to be withdrawn or renegotiated should new information arise.

The report also recommended that mining companies operating in Western Australia suspend all relevant projects and commit to a voluntary moratorium on permissions granted under Section 18 until stricter heritage laws are passed in parliament.

The Chamber of Minerals and Energy of Western Australia, a lobby group representing the interests of mining companies, described the recommendation for a moratorium as a "blunt instrument" that would damage the economy and local communities.

Rio Tinto says that it has already brought in changes to the way it operates to ensure the protection and preservation of heritage sites with exceptional significance.

“As a business, we are committed to learning from this event to ensure the destruction of heritage sites of such exceptional archaeological and cultural significance never occurs again,” said Rio chairman Simon Thompson, who travelled to the area last month to meet the PKKP.

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Rio Tinto has been facing a barrage of negative publicity since the destruction of the Juukan Gorge.

In September, the company faced accusations of "side-stepping" its responsibility after the failure to clean up toxic waste from a closed gold and copper mine on the Papua New Guinea island of Bougainville. The mine became a focal point of a civil war on the island and despite being closed in 1989, is still leaking waste into the surrounding area today.

Last month, Rio was back in the news over its vast Oyu Tolgoi copper mine in Mongolia, the expansion of which is running late and is costing the state billions of dollars more than originally planned.

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