Fortescue to pay A$150M for Aboriginal site damage

Fortescue (ASX: FMG), one of the world’s biggest iron ore miners, must pay more than A$150 million (US$108 million) to an Australian Aboriginal group after a court found the company damaged culturally significant sites while operating the Solomon Hub mine without consent.

The Federal Court of Australia ruled the miner caused “significant damage” to the cultural heritage of the Yindjibarndi people in Western Australia’s Pilbara region, awarding A$150 million for cultural loss and A$100,000 (about $73,000) for economic loss. The Yindjibarndi Ngurra Aboriginal Corporation had sought as much as A$1.8 billion ($1.3 billion) in compensation. 

Judge Stephen Burley said the community held “deep and visceral” connections to the land and that “significant damage has been done to Yindjibarndi songlines and other areas of cultural heritage.”

“Fortescue accepts that the Yindjibarndi People are entitled to compensation,” a company spokesperson said in an emailed statement. The company noted it would review the court’s full reasons for the decision once published. 

Long dispute

The dispute dates back more than two decades after the Yindjibarndi people filed a native title claim in 2003. Fortescue began mining before the matter was resolved and later fought the case in court after the Yindjibarndi secured exclusive native title rights in 2017 over a 2,700-sq.-km area rich in iron ore deposits.

Fortescue is the world’s fourth-largest iron ore producer, with executive chairman and founder Andrew Forrest building a multibillion-dollar fortune as China’s industrialization fuelled soaring demand for iron ore, the key ingredient in steelmaking.

The ruling marks one of the largest compensation awards under Australia’s native title laws and represents a significant ESG and legal setback for a major global miner. 

A spokesperson for the Yindjibarndi Aboriginal Corporation did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Northern Miner sister publication MINING.COM.