Western Australia to pay compensation to Aboriginal group for mine damage

Australia’s largest state has decided to tighten its laws to protect indigenous cultural heritage after mining operations destroyed the Rio Tinto caves three years ago. These caves have traces of human occupation dating back 46,000 years.

Western Australian Government a A historic deal with the Tjiwarl people living in the northern parts of the state. The agreement includes compensation for three native title claims and an agreement on future land use.

The government will pay the Digiwarl Tribal Corporation 22.6 million Canadian dollars to compensate for actions such as road construction and leases that have disrupted the tribal group’s legal integrity on Aboriginal lands.

The Agreement lays the foundation for a strong relationship between the Government of Western Australia and future Tjiwarl Aboriginal title holdersThe state government said.

The new agreement gives Tjiwarl more power over future mine developments and issues such as water management and mining or oil leases, and eliminates the need for future compensation claims. This gives back some land to the Digiwarl people and expands their protectorate.

Delighted that the Digiwarl Aboriginal Corporation has come to an agreement.

Hopefully this agreement will guide other title holding groups towards a similar outcome.Digiwarl Aboriginal Corporation Chief Executive Greg Ryan-Gadden said.

Mining case

According to Malcolm O’Dell, an attorney involved in the negotiations and working with Mid-Desert Native Title Services, all mining companies that had any liability in the original compensation claim have resolved the issues.

Bellevue Gold Company was one of the mining companies that settled their debt.

Miner BHP, which declined to comment, reached an agreement in 2018 over its nickel mining operations but is not part of the current deal. The Mount Keith and Leinster mines are located in Digiwarl territory.