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Traditional owners win native title fight with Fortescue

Darren Gray

Native title holders in the Pilbara will seek compensation after winning their long-running battle with iron ore miner Fortescue Metals Group.

In a judgment on Thursday, the Federal Court awarded the Yindjibarndi people exclusive rights over a section of Pilbara land where Fortescue operates the Solomon mine.

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Shortly after the judgment was handed down, senior Yindjibarndi lawman Michael Woodley vowed to launch a compensation claim against the iron ore miner.

"We believe strongly they are liable for what they've been doing for the last eight years on our country, mining without our ... prior and informed consent," Mr Woodley told the ABC.

In his decision, Justice Steven Rares pointed to the presence of the Yindjibarndi in the area well before European settlement and the fact there were important cultural sites near the Fortescue mine.

"I have found that the Yindjibarndi are entitled to exclusive native title rights and interests over all of the unallocated Crown land in the claimed area and the Yandeeyara Reserve, except for a small area occupied by the Tom Price railway," he said.

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"This includes the unallocated Crown land occupied by FMG's Solomon Hub mine."

Justice Rares said this stemmed from the fact that the Yindjibarndi had established that under their customs a "manjangu" (stranger) still had to get permission from an elder before entering or carrying out activity on the land.

Under that local custom, the judgment says, the granting of permission would offer "protection from any spiritual dangers that they, and the other Aboriginal peoples in the Pilbara, believe will harm a stranger who enters or carries out activities ... without permission".

He also said: "The traditional Yindjibarndi laws and customs give them the right, and they owe a duty to the spirits, to consider whether the stranger should be allowed to enter the particular place and carry out any proposed activity."

Justice Rares said this finding was consistent with an earlier Federal Court decision that had granted non-exclusive native title to the area.

He added that the law allowed for an alteration of that non-exclusive native title under certain conditions.

He also said: "I have also found that, apart from the licence for the Tom Price railway, none of the exploration licences issued to the various mining companies operated to derogate from the Yindjibarndi's native title which is preserved, unaffected by those licences."

Justice Rares said the Solomon Hub mine was "near a sacred site and fresh water spring that the Yindjibarndi call Bangkangarra and that FMG has named 'Satellite Spring".

Shares in Fortescue, the nation's third biggest iron ore producer, closed on Thursday down 19 cents, or 1.65 per cent, to $5.19.

The Solomon Hub, which includes two iron ore mines, is a key part of Fortescue's operations. The Solomon Hub produces about 70 million tonnes of iron ore a year. Overall, Fortescue produces about 165 million tonnes of iron ore a year.

But in a statement to the ASX, Fortescue expressed no concern about the judgment.

"The court's decision has no impact on the current and future operations or mining tenure at the Solomon Hub. We have no commercial concerns and do not anticipate any material financial impact following the court's determination," the company said.

"Fortescue will continue its approach of providing training, employment and business development opportunities for Aboriginal people to ensure the strength of its business benefits the communities in which it operates."

Western Australia's Aboriginal Affairs Minister, Ben Wyatt, said he "warmly congratulated" the Yindjibarndi people.

"The Yindjibarndi have proven themselves to be determined and committed advocates in their pursuit of exclusive possession and have won today in the face of not insignificant obstacles over many years," he said.

Mr Wyatt also said that like other native title cases, this litigation had been long running and caused "fractures" in the community.

"However, today's result is a tremendous victory for the Yindjibarndi people and I hope they are able to unite and work together to ensure that they are able to utilise their now recognised native title rights to benefit all members of the Yindjibarndi community," he said.

with AAP

Originally published on smh.com.au as 'Traditional owners win native title fight with Fortescue'.