Fortescue to finally pay royalties to Aboriginal partner a year late
But the Wintawari Guruma Aboriginal Corporation is still waiting to hear if 2020 payments, due in February, will be paid
04 February 2021 - 12:09
byMelanie Burton
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An autonomous truck readies to pick up a load of iron ore at Australia's Fortescue Metals Group Chichester Hubin the Pilbara region, located southeast of the coastal town of Port Hedland in Western Australia. File photo: REUTERS/MELANIE BURTON
Melbourne — Australia’s Fortescue Metals has pledged to pay A$1.9m in outstanding royalties to an Aboriginal partner, about a year after they were initially due, a spokesperson for the group said on Thursday.
The figure represents full payments for 2019 and comes amid a growing spotlight on miners’ relationships with indigenous people, following peer Rio Tinto’s destruction of ancient, sacred caves in 2020.
The Wintawari Guruma Aboriginal Corporation (WGAC) on Wednesday received a letter from Fortescue CEO Greg Lilleyman confirming the payment, and expected to receive it "in the next few days", a spokesperson said.
It was still waiting to hear however, whether 2020 payments, due in February, would be paid, he added.
Fortescue confirmed the "good faith" payment while discussions of heritage approvals at the Queen’s Valley project in Western Australia continue, but did not comment on whether it would pay the 2020 royalties in February.
The miner is expected to report record half year profits at more than $4bn later in February amid soaring prices for iron ore, used in steel-making.
Fortescue’s Solomon Hub, which has production capacity of 75-million tonnes per year, lies on ancestral land of the Eastern Guruma — or Wintawari Guruma — people, along with about 90km of its Eliwana railway.
The WGAC has said it estimates at least 434 heritage sites have been destroyed through mining, while 285 more are close to mining operations and inaccessible to traditional owners.
The miner says WGAC is contractually obliged to approve the leases.
"It is only the failure to comply with this contractual obligation over a prolonged period that resulted in Fortescue taking the decision to temporarily withhold calendar year 2019 compensation payments," it told a government inquiry in 2020.
However, WGAC director Joselyn Hicks told the same inquiry that WGAC had asked for more information on Fortescue’s mining plans before it approves the leases, since the areas contain numerous sacred sites.
Support our award-winning journalism. The Premium package (digital only) is R30 for the first month and thereafter you pay R129 p/m now ad-free for all subscribers.
Fortescue to finally pay royalties to Aboriginal partner a year late
But the Wintawari Guruma Aboriginal Corporation is still waiting to hear if 2020 payments, due in February, will be paid
Melbourne — Australia’s Fortescue Metals has pledged to pay A$1.9m in outstanding royalties to an Aboriginal partner, about a year after they were initially due, a spokesperson for the group said on Thursday.
The figure represents full payments for 2019 and comes amid a growing spotlight on miners’ relationships with indigenous people, following peer Rio Tinto’s destruction of ancient, sacred caves in 2020.
The Wintawari Guruma Aboriginal Corporation (WGAC) on Wednesday received a letter from Fortescue CEO Greg Lilleyman confirming the payment, and expected to receive it "in the next few days", a spokesperson said.
It was still waiting to hear however, whether 2020 payments, due in February, would be paid, he added.
Fortescue confirmed the "good faith" payment while discussions of heritage approvals at the Queen’s Valley project in Western Australia continue, but did not comment on whether it would pay the 2020 royalties in February.
The miner is expected to report record half year profits at more than $4bn later in February amid soaring prices for iron ore, used in steel-making.
Fortescue’s Solomon Hub, which has production capacity of 75-million tonnes per year, lies on ancestral land of the Eastern Guruma — or Wintawari Guruma — people, along with about 90km of its Eliwana railway.
The WGAC has said it estimates at least 434 heritage sites have been destroyed through mining, while 285 more are close to mining operations and inaccessible to traditional owners.
The miner says WGAC is contractually obliged to approve the leases.
"It is only the failure to comply with this contractual obligation over a prolonged period that resulted in Fortescue taking the decision to temporarily withhold calendar year 2019 compensation payments," it told a government inquiry in 2020.
However, WGAC director Joselyn Hicks told the same inquiry that WGAC had asked for more information on Fortescue’s mining plans before it approves the leases, since the areas contain numerous sacred sites.
Reuters
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