Australia: after the blasting of an Aboriginal cave, Rio Tinto sanctions its leaders

Text by: RFI Follow

2 min

The Rio Tinto mining group financially sanctions its leaders, three months after the dynamiting of a sacred aboriginal cave, which continues to be controversial in Australia.

Publicity

Rio Tinto's chief executive has to give up nearly $ 3 million in bonuses. Jean-Sébastien Jacques, the French general manager of Rio Tinto is sanctioned, as the head of the “  iron ore  ” division and the director of communication. Collectively, they must give up nearly 4 and a half million euros in bonuses. It is a change of posture of the Anglo-Australian mining group.

Until now Rio Tinto defended the destruction last May of the sacred aboriginal cave of Juukan , because it had been authorized by the State of Western Australia, to enlarge an iron mine.

Growing shareholder dissatisfaction

But discontent grew against the world iron giant: anger of the Aborigines, demonstrations, severe criticism of parliamentarians, who had audited the group's leaders… The shareholders demanded the resignation of Jean-Sébastien Jacques.

Rio Tinto therefore conducted an internal investigation concluding that the group had certainly obtained the legal authorization to destroy the archaeological site, but that it had "  not respected its own standards  ".

"  A lack of respect for local communities and their heritage,  " acknowledged the group's president, Simon Thomson, who promised to "  implement new measures so that what happened at Juukan cave does not happen. not reproduce  ”.

Newsletter Receive all the international news directly in your mailbox

Follow all the international news by downloading the RFI application

• Australia

On the same subject

Australia: Rio Tinto admits having destroyed prehistoric aboriginal caves