A decision by Rio Tinto Group to destroy Aboriginal Australian heritage sites dating back more than 46 000 years delivered about $135-million in extra value to its iron-ore division, according to the miner’s top executive.
Rio rejected three other options that would’ve avoided damaging two rockshelters in Western Australia in order to access about eight million tons of high-value ore, CEO Jean-Sebastien Jacques said Friday. The company recorded about $4.6-billion in profits from its iron-ore unit in the first half.
“The economic value at the time of the decision, or the net present value, was around $135-million,” when mining plans for the site in the Juukan Gorge region of the Pilbara district were decided in around 2012 or 2013, Jacques told a hearing of an Australian Parliamentary committee investigating the blasts.