PERTH (miningweekly.com) – Diversified miner Rio Tinto and the Puutu Kunti Kurrama and Pinikura people (PKKP) in December confirmed initial steps to rebuild their relationship following the May 2020 events at Juukan Gorge, in the Pilbara.

A joint session of the PKKP and Rio boards was held to reaffirm Rio’s apology and commitment to rebuilding the relationship, following the destruction of the Juukan Gorge rock shelters.

PKKP in cooperation with Rio Tinto have been involved in remedial works at Juukan Gorge, which continue.

The parties in December said that they would prepare a heads of agreement that would capture commitments and outline how both Rio and PKKP would work together.

“We know we have a lot of work to do in order to rebuild trust and confidence in our business. I look forward to continuing the work with PKKP Traditional Owners to re-chart our partnership and build a shared future,” said Rio’s acting CEO for its iron-ore division, Ivan Vella.

The PKKP have acknowledged that Rio has taken steps to address the hurt and devastation caused by the actions which culminated in the destruction in May 2020, saying they were encouraged by these steps to date but they are the first of many that will be needed to ensure the avoidable and unnecessary destruction of cultural heritage sites, like Juukan Gorge, will never be repeated.

“While we have made some initial positive steps in rebuilding our relationship there is so much more we need to do in order to shape a shared future for our next generations of PKKP people working with Rio Tinto,” Kurrama Elder Burchell Hayes said.

Rio in December appointed CFO Jakob Stausholm to take over the role as CEO from Jean-Sebastian Jacques on January 1, 2021.

Jacques, along with iron-ore CEO Chris Salisbury, and group executive of corporate relations Simone Niven all handed in their resignations following the destruction of the Juukan Gorge rock shelters in the Pilbara last year.