Fortescue Metals Group Wants The Right to Desecrate Indigenous Heritage Sites

19.10.11

Fortescue Metals Group Wants The Right to Desecrate Indigenous Heritage Sites [intercontinentalcry.org] Fortescue Metals Group (FMG), a massive iron ore mining company based in Australia, is trying to get out of a state order forcing the company to protect any burial sites they encounter on Yindjibarndi country in Western Australia's Pilbara region.

In June of this year, WA's Indigenous Affairs Minister, Peter Collier, sent a four-page letter to FMG outlining nine special conditions for the company, including a requirement to stop work on their massive $8.5 billion Solomon Hub project if they encountered any human remains.

The letter also warned that any failure to comply with the conditions could constitute an unlawful breach of the 1972 Aboriginal Heritage Act.

As well, the minister's letter identified eight specific heritage sites that FMG should protect; however, that only represents a small fraction of the real number of sites in Yindjibarndi country. "There are 250 or more in this country, some very important places for our religious ceremonies," Michael Woodley, chief executive of the Yindjibarndi Aboriginal Corporation (YAC), told the Age.