More than 100 ancient Aboriginal sites in Western Australia – some of which date before the last ice age – could be destroyed by mining companies which have already obtained legal permission to do so. Mining companies have been granted permission to damage 463 sites in the past 10 years. Traditional owner groups say they are left “appealing to the mining companies’ better nature” and Langton says consultation isn’t enough. Fortescue manages more than 5,900 Aboriginal heritage sites across its leases, and BHP manages about 8,000 sites. The Banjima said agreements with mining companies have been “negotiated in the context of an imbalance of power”.

Source: The Guardian August 27, 2020 17:30 UTC