Rio Tinto apologised to an Australian parliamentary inquiry in its submission on Tuesday for the destruction of ancient sacred caves, admitted to numerous errors, and said it supported reforms to state heritage laws.
The world’s biggest iron-ore miner in late May legally destroyed two historically significant sacred caves in Western Australia state, against the wishes of the Traditional Owners, but that sat atop a high grade ore body it planned to mine.
The destruction distressed the local Puutu Kunti Kurrama and Pinikura people (PKKP) and fuelled a wider public outcry that led to a Senate Inquiry into how the blast was legally sanctioned, which Rio’s chief executive will front on Friday. “The destruction of the Juukan rockshelters should not have occurred and I have unreservedly apologised to the Puutu Kunti Kurrama and Pinikura people," Jean-Sébastien Jacques said in a statement.