ÌÇÐÄvlogÈë¿Ú

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Juukan Gorge

A breach of our values

In allowing the destruction of the Juukan Gorge rock shelters to occur, we fell far short of our values as a company and breached the trust placed in us by the Traditional Owners of the lands on which we operate. 

Since the tragic destruction of the rock shelters at Juukan Gorge, on the land of the Puutu Kunti Kurrama and Pinikura people in Western Australia, we have been changing the way we work in every part of our business. While we have made progress, we know it will take time to transform our culture and regain trust. But, together with the Indigenous peoples of the lands on which we operate, we are committed to ensuring cultural heritage is respected, valued and conserved for future generations.”

Jakob Stausholm, Chief Executive

Our commitments

We have spent the past three and a half years making major changes right across our business to better protect cultural heritage. This includes reviewing our mine plans, improving agreements, strengthening our social performance governance, capacity, and capability, and strengthening and rebuilding relationships with Indigenous peoples and communities.

As part of our efforts to improve transparency, we have committed to providing updates on the work we are undertaking to enhance our communities and social performance (CSP) practices. 

In October 2022, we released our second Communities and Social Performance Commitments Disclosure Report which details our progress made against the commitments made in the 2020 Board Review of the destruction of the Juukan Gorge rock shelters.

Since then, the update on our progress is provided within our Annual Report.

As part of the update on our progress in 2021 and 2022 we asked Traditional Owner groups in the Pilbara to share feedback on our progress on some of the commitments which is included in the Disclosures. In 2023, we repeated this process with six out of ten Pilbara Traditional Owner entities choosing to respond. The verbatim feedback is presented below.

Progress on our Communities and Social Performance commitments 2023
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Communities and Social Performance Commitments Disclosure 2022
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Communities and Social Performance Commitments Disclosure 2021
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1. Remedying and rebuilding our relationship with the Puutu Kunti Kurrama and Pinikura people

In November 2022 we signed a remedy agreement with the Puutu Kunti Kurrama and Pinikura Aboriginal Corporation and agreed to create the Juukan Gorge Legacy Foundation. In accordance with the right to self-determination, the agreement reflects the desire of the Traditional Owners to create a foundation that supports the cultural, social, educational and economic aspirations of the group. The Foundation, to be led and controlled by Traditional Owners, will also enable the delivery of broader benefits through commercial partnership opportunities.

Under the agreement, we will provide financial support to the foundation to progress major cultural and social projects including a new keeping place for storage of important cultural materials.

In May 2022, we signed a co-management Heads of Agreement with the Puutu Kunti Kurrama and Pinikura Aboriginal Corporation, which sets out how we will work together in partnership on a co-management approach to mining activities on Puutu Kunti Kurrama and Pinikura Country. We are committed to building stronger relationships and working in partnership on-Country with all Indigenous people of the lands on which we operate.

In July 2022, in collaboration and with Traditional Owner oversight, we commenced re-excavation on Juukan Gorge 2 at the request of the Puutu Kunti Kurrama and Pinikura people as part of the broader Juukan Gorge project. The Iron Ore Heritage Management team has been working with Puutu Kunti Kurrama and Pinikura Traditional Owners and Specialist Heritage consultants to plan the re-excavation since mid-2021.

We are working under the direct guidance of the Puutu Kunti Kurrama and Pinikura people to remediate country. Throughout our journey with the Puutu Kunti Kurrama and Pinikura people, they have graciously shared their knowledge to ensure our remediation efforts deliver the best possible outcomes. During this time, we have been reminded of the importance of trusted relationships and valued partnerships through listening and continuously demonstrating mutual respect.

2. Partnering and working collaboratively with Traditional Owners

We are finding better ways to work with communities and Indigenous Peoples, particularly in how we protect heritage. We are moving to a model of co-management, working in partnership with Indigenous Peoples across our operations. Our approach aims to enhance our understanding and appreciation of Indigenous cultural heritage and ensure that Indigenous voices inform our planning and decision making.

Yindjibarndi agreement

Modernising our agreements

Our partnership with Yindjibarndi Aboriginal Corporation

In November 2022 we signed an updated agreement with the Yindjibarndi Aboriginal Corporation (YAC) aimed at strengthening ties and delivering improved social and economic outcomes for the Yindjibarndi people for generations to come.

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The updated agreement, delivered as part of our commitment to modernise our relationships with Traditional Owners, reflects a deeper commitment to work together to create more opportunities for Yindjibarndi people to participate in Rio Tinto’s operations, including direct and indirect employment opportunities, and build sustainable long-term benefits to the community.

Part of the agreement includes support for YAC to deliver the outcomes of its 3C strategy, which is focussed on developing Community, Commercial and Culture projects and programmes to assist YAC to fulfil its aspirations of self-determination. These programs support the Yindjibarndi people's aspirations to build capacity and capability, as well as support initiatives that will preserve, sustain and celebrate culture.

3. Establishing the new Communities and Social Performance model

In 2021, we established our new Communities and Social Performance (CSP) model to increase our social performance capacity and capability across the business. Our global Communities and Social Performance Area of Expertise supports and complements our asset-based teams by monitoring and sharing external societal trends, developing standards, systems and risk and assurance processes, building capability, and providing strategic and technical subject matter advice.

4. Empowering operational management

We have increased the technical capability and resourcing of our Cultural Heritage teams to build understanding and delivery of cultural heritage management.

In our Iron Ore business, our Cultural Heritage team provides specialist support to our operations and the broader business. This includes listening and learning from Traditional Owners and ensuring cultural values are understood and incorporated into our operational practices.

We have increased front-line leader presence at Traditional Owner consultations and surveys so leaders can hear Traditional Owner knowledge first-hand, ensuring it will be factored into the way we operate in an area.

5. Improving our governance, planning and systems

In March 2023, we published an independent report (produced by ERM, a global sustainability consultancy) on a global audit of our cultural heritage management performance. The audit was completed throughout 2021 and 2022 across 20 assets in Australia and 17 assets in other countries where we operate, including Canada, South Africa, US and Mongolia. The audit identified areas where we are achieving leading cultural heritage practices but also areas where we need to improve our performance. Based on the report recommendations, we are developing a consolidated action plan and a cultural heritage maturity model to monitor progress across the business.

Independent Cultural Heritage Management Audit
Independent Cultural Heritage Management Audit
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Independent Cultural Heritage Management Audit [ES]
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Independent Cultural Heritage Management Audit [FR]
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6. Reducing barriers to, and increasing, Indigenous employment

We are fast-tracking Indigenous Australians into professional and leadership roles to ensure we have a stronger representation of diverse voices at our decision-making tables in Australia. In 2023, we revised our target to have 100 Indigenous leaders by 2025. Having true diversity of perspectives, and an Indigenous lens on decision making, will guide our company moving forward. 

Creating an environment that is safe for Indigenous employees is a priority. Our cultural safety initiative “Care for Mob” will be delivered against a national framework in partnership with the Everyday Respect taskforce to ensure all employees feel safe, supported and respected.

7. Increasing Indigenous leadership and developing cultural competency

More than 200 Indigenous employees across our Australian business have enrolled in a professional leadership programme as part of our commitment to developing Indigenous employees and elevating Indigenous voices.

We want all our leaders to be culturally competent and successfully navigate across the various cultures they operate in. The Cultural Connection Program ensures leaders can navigate and understand Indigenous culture and build strong trusted relationships with the Indigenous community and Indigenous employees in Australia. More than 87% of our senior leaders have completed this programme.

In Canada, we continue to create learning opportunities for our people to raise awareness about the history, culture and rights of Indigenous Peoples. In 2023, we introduced a new online training on awareness of Indigenous culture and issues, across all our Canadian sites.

8. Establishing a process to redefine and improve cultural heritage management standards

Our Integrated Heritage Management Process (IHMP) embeds heritage considerations throughout the mine development process, from early resource planning and studies through to closure. The process clarifies leadership accountability to inform field teams about heritage sites and management controls.

We have upgraded our heritage data management systems to ensure that we effectively record knowledge gained through our cultural heritage assessment processes with Traditional Owners.

9. Establishing an Australian Advisory Group

We established the Australian Advisory Group (AAG) in 2022 to provide independent expert advice to our executives on matters impacting our operations in Australia, with a priority focus on Indigenous issues and opportunities. The group met four times in 2023, including site visits to Weipa and the Pilbara. An independent review of the AAG was finalised in October to ensure the AAG continues to operate in a way that adds genuine value to our business.

10. and 11. Increasing consultation and engagement

We are challenging ourselves to be more transparent, sharing not only the good news stories but the ones that identify areas for improvement. We have focused on keeping stakeholders updated on our progress to improve cultural heritage management and protections, including the modernisation of agreements.

In May 2020, we destroyed rock shelters of exceptional significance at Juukan Gorge, near our Brockman iron ore mine in the Pilbara, Western Australia. This was a breach of the trust placed in us by the Puutu Kunti Kurrama and Pinikura people and other Traditional Owners of the lands on which our business operates. At our AGM, we presented a video of some of our employees' reflections on Juukan Gorge.

Lessons learned from Juukan Gorge

The destruction of the rock shelters at Juukan Gorge represented a breach of our partners’ trust and a failure to uphold our values as a company.

Internal and external reviews of the events leading up to the destruction of the rock shelters at Juukan Gorge have highlighted deficiencies in how our partnerships with Traditional Owner groups were managed, a lack of integration of our heritage management with our front-line operational teams, and a work culture that was too focused on business performance and not enough on building and maintaining relationships with Traditional Owners.

A review published by the ÌÇÐÄvlogÈë¿ÚBoard of Directors in August 2020 identified a series of systemic failures of our communities and heritage management processes at Brockman 4 over an extended period of time. The full review can be found below.

Both the Board Review and the Inquiry of the Joint Standing Committee on Northern Australia (the Parliamentary Inquiry) made it clear that the events at Juukan Gorge represented a breach of our partners’ trust and a failure to uphold our values as a company.

In 2021, the Board conducted a joint exercise with the Executive Committee to learn the lessons from the destruction of the rock shelters at Juukan Gorge, and the Group’s response to the tragic events. In addition to strengthening crisis management and communications, the key learnings which the Board and Executive team are committed to addressing are: 

  • Promoting an inclusive, open and transparent culture that empowers people to raise and escalate concerns on operational and ethical issues 
  • Applying a more values-driven approach to guide decision making. Our new values of care, courage and curiosity, support these desired behaviours

The Board is determined to learn the lessons to ensure that the destruction of a site of exceptional cultural significance never happens again.

The oversight role of our Sustainability Committee

The Sustainability Committee supports the Board in ensuring ÌÇÐÄvlogÈë¿Údelivers a strong business performance on a sustainable basis that builds trust with our people, our partners and stakeholders and with wider society.

Internal and external reviews of the events leading to the blasting of the rock shelters at Juukan Gorge have identified various deficiencies including how our partnership with the Puutu Kunti Kurrama and Pinikura people was managed, a lack of integration of our heritage management with our front-line operational teams, and a work culture that was too focused on business performance and not enough on building and maintaining relationships with Traditional Owners.

The archaeological and ethnographic reports received in 2013-14 should have triggered an internal review of the implications of this material new information for the mine development plans. Such a review did not take place. Following the completion of the archaeological surveys and other mitigation measures agreed with the Puutu Kunti Kurrama and Pinikura people in 2014, the site was reclassified as ‘cleared’ for mining and removed from relevant risk registers. As a consequence, knowledge and awareness of the location and significance of the site was progressively lost. Further opportunities to revise the mine plan were missed in 2018, when the final archaeological report was received, and again during 2019-20.

The Sustainability Committee has been charged with overseeing the implementation of the recommendations set out in the Board Review and Parliamentary Inquiry, and with ensuring that these lessons are applied to our operations across Australia and the globe.

Joint Standing Committee on Northern Australia statements

Rio Tinto’s position on JSCNA Recommendations: as at 16 Dec 2020
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Joint Statement from PKKP and Rio Tinto: 5 Feb 2021
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Kellie Parker - Opening Statement to JCNA: 27 Aug 2021
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Submissions and responses

Australian Parliamentary Inquiry into the Destruction of the Rockshelters at the Juukan Gorge in the Pilbara region of Western Australia

ÌÇÐÄvlogÈë¿ÚSubmission - 31 Jul 2020
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Responses to Questions on Notice - Sep 2020
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Responses to Questions on Notice: Set 1, Nov 2020
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Responses to Questions on Notice: Set 2, Nov 2020
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Responses to Questions on Notice: 20 Nov 2020
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Responses to Questions on Notice: 21 Sep 2021
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ÌÇÐÄvlogÈë¿ÚBoard review

The ÌÇÐÄvlogÈë¿ÚBoard of Directors conducted a review of our cultural heritage management processes, procedures, reporting and governance.  

ÌÇÐÄvlogÈë¿ÚBoard Review
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Independent report on cultural heritage management performance 

From the findings of the ÌÇÐÄvlogÈë¿ÚBoard review on cultural heritage management, we commissioned ERM to conduct an independent audit on our compliance and performance. 

Independent Cultural Heritage Management Audit
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Latest Juukan Gorge releases

20 March 2023

ÌÇÐÄvlogÈë¿Úpublishes independent report on cultural heritage management performance

MELBOURNE, Australia--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- ÌÇÐÄvlogÈë¿Útoday published an independent report based on a global audit of its Cultural Heritage Management compliance and performance – one of a number of steps it is taking to continue to find better ways to manage and protect heritage. The audit identified areas where ÌÇÐÄvlogÈë¿Úis achieving leading cultural heritage practices but also identified othe

28 November 2022

PKKP and ÌÇÐÄvlogÈë¿Úto create Juukan Gorge Legacy Foundation

MELBOURNE, Australia--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- The Puutu Kunti Kurrama and Pinikura (PKKP) Aboriginal Corporation and ÌÇÐÄvlogÈë¿Úhave agreed to create the Juukan Gorge Legacy Foundation after signing a remedy agreement regarding the tragic destruction of two ancient rock shelters at Juukan Gorge in the Pilbara region of Western Australia in 2020. In accordance with the right to self-determination, th

18 October 2021

ÌÇÐÄvlogÈë¿ÚStatement on Joint Standing Committee on Northern Australia Report

MELBOURNE, Australia--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- ÌÇÐÄvlogÈë¿Úwelcomes the final report of the Joint Standing Committee on Northern Australia following its inquiry into the destruction of rock shelters at Juukan Gorge on the land of the Puutu Kunti Kurrama and Pinikura people (PKKP) in the Pilbara region of Western Australia. ÌÇÐÄvlogÈë¿ÚChief Executive Jakob Stausholm said “We have been working hard to re

Key statements on Juukan Gorge

  • Statement on Juukan Gorge: 12 June 2020
    ÌÇÐÄvlogÈë¿Úwill fully cooperate with the Inquiry by the Joint Standing Committee on Northern Australia while also continuing to support the West Australian government in the reform of the Aboriginal Heritage Act 1972 (WA). We are committed to engaging with the rest of the industry, Traditional Owner Groups, and federal and state governments across a number of areas relating to cultural heritage approvals and processes, and the broad contribution of the resources sector to Australia.

    We are very sorry for the distress we have caused the PKKP in relation to Juukan Gorge and our first priority remains rebuilding trust with the PKKP.  ÌÇÐÄvlogÈë¿Úhas a long history of working in partnership and creating shared value with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities around our operations and across Australia more broadly.  We remain absolutely committed to continuing to do so.

    We believe the mining industry has a critical role to play in contributing to the future prosperity of all Australians.

    Jean-Sebastien Jacques, Chief Executive


  • Statement on Juukan Gorge: 31 May 2020
    We pay our respects to the Puutu Kunti Kurrama and Pinikura People (PKKP), and we are sorry for the distress we have caused. Our relationship with the PKKP matters a lot to Rio Tinto, having worked together for many years.

    We have operated on PKKP country under a comprehensive and mutually agreed Participation Agreement since 2011.

    At Juukan, in partnership with the PKKP, we followed a heritage approval process for more than 10 years. In 2014 we performed a large-scale exercise in the Juukan area to preserve significant cultural heritage artefacts, recovering approximately 7,000 objects.

    We will continue to work with the PKKP to learn from what has taken place and strengthen our partnership. As a matter of urgency, we are reviewing the plans of all other sites in the Juukan Gorge area.

    From a broader perspective, as we already work within all existing frameworks, we will launch a comprehensive review of our heritage approach, engaging Traditional Owners to help identify, understand and recommend ways to improve the process.

    Three decades ago we were the first mining company to recognise native title. Today we also recognise that a review is needed in relation to the management of heritage in Western Australia more broadly, and we will advocate where relevant for legislative reform.

    The mining industry supports all Australians by providing jobs, supporting small business, and paying taxes and royalties. We remain committed to doing so in a way that provides economic development opportunities and facilitates the preservation and sharing of traditional culture.

    As a company with strong ties and a long history of partnership with Indigenous Australians we are committed to updating our practices and working together so that we can co-exist for mutual benefit.

    Chris Salisbury, Chief Executive, Iron Ore

  • Statement on Juukan Gorge: 27 May 2020

    Working with the Puutu Kunti Kurrama and Pinikura People

    ÌÇÐÄvlogÈë¿Útakes cultural heritage and partnerships with Traditional Owner groups very seriously. We were the first mining company in Australia to embrace Traditional Owners’ native title rights and interests, and we have a long history of recognising and working to safeguard areas of cultural significance.

    We have had a longstanding relationship with the Puutu Kunti Kurrama and Pinikura People for over two decades and have been working together on the Juukan area since 2003, which includes having secured the necessary approvals for mining activity in consultation with the PKKP.

    Chris Salisbury, Chief Executive, Iron Ore

    The PKKP and ÌÇÐÄvlogÈë¿Úsigned a comprehensive native title and heritage agreement in 2011, providing for ongoing engagement as well as financial and non-financial benefits to the PKKP for mining activities on their country.

    The mining activity conducted in May 2020 was undertaken in accordance with all necessary approvals. It was preceded by a ministerial consent under Section 18 of the Aboriginal Heritage Act. This was obtained in 2013 after detailed consultation with the PKKP people over a decade that included research investigations in 2008 under a Section 16 authorisation. Following the Section 18 consent extensive heritage preservation and salvage work was undertaken in 2014, all with PKKP involvement.

    With the approval of the PKKP, the preserved artefacts have been deposited at a ÌÇÐÄvlogÈë¿Ústorage facility to ensure appropriate protection of the material and we are working with the PKKP on longer-term options. We have continued to work closely and collaboratively with the PKKP on a range of heritage matters, including operations in the Juukan area, and have modified our operations to avoid cultural and heritage impacts. From 2014, the PKKP and ÌÇÐÄvlogÈë¿Úcontinued dialogue on the Juukan region, including discussion on the findings from the specialist studies that were conducted on the excavated materials. This included a site visit to the Brockman 4 operations with PKKP people in 2019.

    We proceeded with our operations at Brockman 4 in reliance of our comprehensive agreement with the PKKP and having all necessary approvals and consents.

    We are sorry that the recently expressed concerns of the PKKP did not arise through the engagements that have taken place over many years under the agreement that governs our operations on their country. To support thorough engagement on these issues, we have a range of formal avenues in place, which go beyond legal requirements. These activities support ongoing dialogue and engagement to occur as part of these processes on cultural heritage.

    We will continue to work with the PKKP, Traditional Owner groups, government and industry on reform in this area.