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Rio Tinto has apologised and paused work at a mining site in Western Australia over fears it has damaged another ancient cultural site sacred to the local First Nations peoples.
A tree and boulder fell from the overhang of a rock shelter in the Pilbara region, close to the Nammuldi mine, in August – the same month the WA government announced it would wind back laws designed to protect culturally significant sites in the state.
It was because of Rio Tinto that those laws were rushed through parliament, with the mining giant's 2020 destruction of two 46,000-year-old rock shelters at Juukan Gorge, also in the Pilbara.
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This time around, Rio Tinto said it hadn't found any evidence of structural damage to the 50,000-year-old rock shelter itself, which is sacred to the Muntulgura Guruma people.
It paused its operations at the Nammuldi site when it noticed the fall of the tree and boulder.
"As soon as we identified this, we paused work which was occurring 150 metres away, and notified the Traditional Owners of the land, the Muntulgura Guruma people," Rio Tinto said in a statement.
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"Initial assessments taken by drone haven't found structural damage to the rock shelter or impacts to any cultural materials.
"We are working closely with the Muntulgura Guruma people to better understand what has happened and will be guided by them on the appropriate next steps.
"We deeply respect the Muntulgura Guruma people and have apologised for this incident."
