Hundreds protest at Rio Tinto's Perth office after mining giant blew up indigenous site

By AAP

June 26, 2020

Hundreds of people have rallied outside Rio Tinto's Perth headquarters to protest the mining giant's destruction of a significant indigenous site in Western Australia.

Explosives detonated in an area of the Juukan Gorge last month destroyed two deep-time rock shelters dating back 46,000 years, causing great distress to the Puutu Kunti Kurrama and Pinikura people in the state's north.

Rio Tinto has apologised but refused to say whether reparations are being considered.

Organiser and Noongar man Robert Eggington told the crowd of about 300 peaceful protesters on Tuesday that Rio had exploited the weakness of WA's Aboriginal heritage legislation.

"They used that against the people and then turned and blamed (it on) misunderstandings between the company and the custodians of that site," Mr Eggington said.

"It's so important to understand how Rio Tinto came like a thief in the night and blew away a site ... that surpassed the last ice age."

Mr Eggington called upon Rio Tinto iron ore chief executive Chris Salisbury to resign and for a 100km buffer to be placed around the Juukan caves to prevent further damage.

Rio was granted approval for the Juukan Gorge work in 2013, but subsequent archaeological excavation had revealed ancient artefacts including grinding stones, a bone sharpened into a tool and 4000-year-old braided hair.

The company has blamed the conflict on a misunderstanding, claiming there was no record of the Puutu Kunti Kurrama and Pinikura Aboriginal Corporation (PKKPAC) asking it to stop mining in the area until mid-May when the blasting was already loaded.

But PKKPAC director Burchell Hayes has rubbished any assertion that Rio Tinto was unaware of concerns.

"That isn't true because for years, we have made mention how significant those sites were," he said.

Mr Salisbury last week said Rio wanted to repair its relationship with traditional owners and promised a comprehensive review of heritage processes.

The WA government hopes to pass its new Aboriginal cultural heritage bill this year, although COVID-19 has delayed the consultation process.

It is expected to allow agreements between traditional owners and companies to consider new information and changes with both parties' approval.

But the government has played down calls for a moratorium on any further work already granted under Section 18 of the Aboriginal Heritage Act, saying this would bring a lot of non-mining private sector and government work to a halt.