Rio Tinto blamed for drying sacred Indigenous waterhole
A sacred waterhole used for thousands of years by Aboriginal people in Western Australia has dried up for the first time in history, with Robe River Kuruma (Traditional Owners) blaming years of unsustainable water pumping by Rio Tinto.
Robe River Kuruma, where Rio Tinto operates an iron ore joint venture of the same name, attended Rio Tinto’s annual general meeting in Perth on Wednesday.
Robe River Authority representative Jason Masters said Rio Tinto’s overdraft was causing irreparable damage to traditional lands in the Western Pilbara region and called on Rio Tinto to reduce its water use.
“This is where my grandmother was born, a sacred, permanent pool of water that has held water through every drought our elders can remember, drying up for the first time in living memory,” he said.
“It remains dry today, even after heavy rains from Hurricane Narelle,” he said, adding that old river gum trees at the edge of a nearby water system had died.
Rio Tinto and the state government are building a $1.1 million desalination plant scheduled to be operational in late 2026, eventually supplying eight gigalitres of water a year as part of plans to reduce water use.
“We’re doing everything we can to get water back into the system, and that’s on track,” said Rio Tinto president Dominic Barton.
“In terms of the irreversible impact and damage, we are very keen to discuss with you what we can do to help you deal with this.”
In March, Rio Tinto said the region had frequently experienced annual rainfall and streamflow below the long-term average over the past five years.
“This has reduced the important groundwater recharge in the Millstream and Bungaroo aquifers that feed the Western Pilbara Water Supply Scheme,” he said.
In 2020, Rio Tinto destroyed a rock shelter sacred to Australia’s Puutu Kunti Kurrama and Pinikura people; This caused widespread public uproar and ultimately led to the departure of the CEO, chairman, and other executives.
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