Fortescue Metals Group has announced a high-level framework agreement with the Eastern Guruma people and flagged a $500 million mining joint venture but was light on details.
Fortescue Metals Group has announced a high-level framework agreement with the Eastern Guruma people and flagged a potential $500 million mining joint venture in the Pilbara, but was light on details.
The miner said it had struck a co-management framework with members of the Wintawari Guruma Aboriginal Corporation, the prescribed body corporate for the Eastern Guruma people.
The agreement provides for the establishment of a working group on all stages of the East and West Queens deposits, from heritage and environmental approvals, resource drilling and definition, and mine planning to operations and rehabilitation.
This process is expected to take several years.
A particular focus is expected to be the protection of Hamersley homestead, where many Eastern Guruma elders were born and grew up.
The agreement stipulates the establishment of a “culturally safe” joint venture with members of WGAC to mine the two deposits.
Fortescue said the 10-year mine services contract to be awarded to the new joint venture would be worth over $500 million, making it the largest contract it has awarded to an Aboriginal business.
However, there were no details on which members of the WGAC would establish the joint venture or when it would come into being.
The WGAC itself has recently shut down its contracting operations, returning its focus to the recognition and protection of Eastern Guruma heritage.
There are at least three contracting businesses that are partly or wholly owned by members of the Eastern Guruma people: Eastern Guruma Pty Ltd, Muntulgura Guruma, and SX5 Group.
There was no mention of whether they would be involved.
Today’s announcement comes more than two years after Fortescue said it planned to spend $US287 million developing its Queens Valley mine, which is separate from the East and West Queens deposits.
Other big miners have been working on their own agreements with traditional owners, in light of the fallout from destruction of the Juukan Gorge rock shelters.
BHP has established a heritage advisory council with the Banjima Native Title Aboriginal Corporation, which recently appointed former Rio Tinto boss Sam Walsh as a director.
Rio has been working on a co-management model with PKKP Aboriginal Corporation, which represents the Puutu Kunti Kurrama and Pinikura people who were at the centre of the Juukan Gorge controversy.
WGAC chair Glen Camille said the establishment of the co-management joint venture represented the next step in its journey with Fortescue.
"Working collaboratively, we will ensure that Eastern Guruma people are active participants in the future development of mines on our country, enabling deeper consultation around the protection of culturally significant sites while building a better future for our people,” he said.
Fortescue chief executive Elizabeth Gaines said today that Fortescue was proud of its longstanding relationship with WGAC.
“We are confident that this new collaborative framework will strengthen our ties with the Eastern Guruma people, through the unique opportunity to have a seat at the table to share cultural knowledge and guide the growth of Fortescue’s operations on their country,” she said.
Fortescue chairman Andrew Forrest said the framework would shape a new shared direction for Fortescue and the Eastern Guruma people.
“Together, we will provide enduring benefit for future generations, while preserving their unique culture and heritage,” he said.
The closure of WGAC’s contracting arm, known as Wintawari Guruma Enterprises, involved shutting down its labour hire operations early this year and selling its plant and equipment.
It has retained one aspect of its old business operations: a facilities management joint venture with US-based Civeo, at Fortescue’s Solomon hub.
Its new focus is on mineral exploration, under the name Guruma Resources.
The company has applied for nine exploration tenements on Eastern Guruma land, which surrounds Tom Price.
