Juukan Gorge is a

gorge A canyon (; archaic British English spelling: ''cañon''), gorge or chasm, is a deep cleft between escarpments or cliffs resulting from weathering and the erosion, erosive activity of a river over geologic time scales. Rivers have a natural tend ...

in the

Hamersley Range The Hamersley Range is a mountainous region of the Pilbara region of Western Australia. The range was named on 12 June 1861 by explorer Francis Thomas Gregory after Edward Hamersley, a prominent promoter of his exploration expedition to the ...

in the

Pilbara The Pilbara () is a large, dry, sparsely populated regions of Western Australia, region in the north of Western Australia. It is known for its Indigenous Australians, Aboriginal people; wealth disparity; its ancient landscapes; the prevailing r ...

region of

Western Australia Western Australia (WA) is the westernmost state of Australia. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east, and South Australia to the south-east. Western Aust ...

, about from Tom Price. It was named by the daughter of

Puutu Kunti Kurrama The Kurrama people, also known as the Puutu Kunti Kurrama people, are an Aboriginal Australian people from the Pilbara region of Western Australia. The Puutu Kunti Kurrama and Pinikura peoples, although of different language groups, are repres ...

man Juukan, also known as Tommy Ashburton, who was born at Jukarinya (Mount Brockman). The gorge is known primarily for a cave that was the only inland site in Australia with evidence of continuous human occupation for over 46,000 years, including through the last Ice Age. The cave was permanently destroyed by

mining Mining is the Resource extraction, extraction of valuable geological materials and minerals from the surface of the Earth. Mining is required to obtain most materials that cannot be grown through agriculture, agricultural processes, or feasib ...

company Rio Tinto in May 2020. Ministerial consent had been given to expand Rio Tinto's mine in 2013 under Western Australian legislation. Prior to its destruction, the cave in Juukan Gorge was an ancient site that had been excavated several times with the help of the

traditional owner Native title is the set of rights, recognised by Australian law, held by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander groups or individuals to land that derive from their maintenance of their traditional laws and customs. These Aboriginal title right ...

s of the land, the Puutu Kunti Kurrama and Pinikura (Binigura) peoples.

Archaeological significance

The archaeological significance of the Juukan Gorge was known at least since 2009, when it was described as "two rock shelters with Aboriginal occupation starting at least 32,000 years ago and extending throughout the Last Glacial period". Rio Tinto received ministerial consent to mine the site in 2013 in the pursuit of expanding their

iron ore Iron ores are rocks and minerals from which metallic iron can be economically extracted. The ores are usually rich in iron oxides and vary in color from dark grey, bright yellow, or deep purple to rusty red. The iron is usually found in the f ...

mining operations. A year later, an

archaeological dig In archaeology, excavation is the exposure, processing and recording of archaeological remains. An excavation site or "dig" is the area being studied. These locations range from one to several areas at a time during a project and can be condu ...

discovered the site was much older than previously thought, at around 46,000 years old, and rich in

cultural artefact A cultural artifact, or cultural artefact (see American and British English spelling differences), is a term used in the social sciences, particularly anthropology, ethnology and sociology for anything created by humans which gives information ...

including animal bones in

midden A midden is an old dump for domestic waste. It may consist of animal bones, human excrement, botanical material, mollusc shells, potsherds, lithics (especially debitage), and other artifacts and ecofacts associated with past human oc ...

s showing changes in the local fauna,

grindstone A grindstone, also known as grinding stone, is a sharpening stone used for grinding or sharpening ferrous tools, used since ancient times. Tools are sharpened by the stone's abrasive qualities that remove material from the tool through friction ...

s and various sacred objects. One particularly significant finding was a length of plaited human hair, woven together from strands from the heads of several different people, about 4,000 years old.

DNA testing Genetic testing, also known as DNA testing, is used to identify changes in DNA sequence or chromosome structure. Genetic testing can also include measuring the results of genetic changes, such as RNA analysis as an output of gene expression, or ...

revealed that the hair had belonged to the direct ancestors of Puutu Kunti Kurrama and Pinikura (PKKP) people alive today. PKKP heritage manager Heather Builth told Rio Tinto that the site was one of the "top five" most significant in the whole of the Pilbara region, and

archaeologist Archaeology or archeology is the study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of Artifact (archaeology), artifacts, architecture, biofact (archaeology), biofacts or ecofacts, ...

Michael Slack had told them that one of the rock shelters, Juukan 2, was of "the highest archaeological significance in Australia", saying that its significance "could not be overstated", being " he onlysite of this age with

fauna Fauna (: faunae or faunas) is all of the animal life present in a particular region or time. The corresponding terms for plants and fungi are ''flora'' and '' funga'', respectively. Flora, fauna, funga and other forms of life are collectively ...

l remains in unequivocal association with

stone tool Stone tools have been used throughout human history but are most closely associated with prehistoric cultures and in particular those of the Stone Age. Stone tools may be made of either ground stone or knapped stone, the latter fashioned by a ...

s".

Cave destruction

The cave was ultimately destroyed with explosives on 24 May 2020 as part of Rio Tinto's expansion of the

Brockman 4 mine The Brockman 4 mine is an iron ore mine located in the Pilbara region of Western Australia, north-west of Tom Price. The mine, located near the existing Brockman mine, was opened in 2010. This was despite the PKKP having said many times that they wanted to preserve the site and having issued an urgent request to halt the blasts five days beforehand. The ''

Aboriginal Heritage Act 1972 The ''Aboriginal Heritage Act 1972'' (AHA) is a law in the state of Western Australia governing the protection of Aboriginal cultural sites. The '' Aboriginal Cultural Heritage Act 2021'' (ACH Act) was intended to replace the Act from 1 July 20 ...

'' (WA) does not allow for mining consent to be renegotiated on the basis of new information, and the blasting was legal under a Section 18 exemption in the Act. Western Australian Aboriginal Affairs Minister Ben Wyatt was as of August 2020 reviewing the Act. During the parliamentary inquiry, the Registrar of Aboriginal sites explained that the traditional owners did not object to the blast before it was too late. Ministerial consent had been granted in 2013.

Rio Tinto response

After this aroused widespread international media coverage and public outcry, Rio Tinto apologised to the Puutu Kunti Kurrama and the Pinikura peoples for the destruction of the caves and for causing distress. The CEO of the iron ore group apologised on behalf of the company on 17 June. The

National Native Title Council Native title is the set of rights, recognised by Australian law, held by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander groups or individuals to land that derive from their maintenance of their traditional laws and customs. These Aboriginal title right ...

(NNTC) issued a request to the federal government asking for national legislation for Indigenous cultural heritage. A Rio Tinto board internal review under

Michael L'Estrange Michael Gerard L'Estrange (born 12 October 1952 in North Sydney, New South Wales) is an Australian academic and former public servant. He is the former Head of the National Security College at the Australian National University, in Canberra. L' ...

, an independent non-executive director of Rio Tinto and former Australian high commissioner to the UK, ascribed the mistake to a series of flaws in their systems, sharing of information, engaging with the Indigenous people and decision-making, and promised to implement new measures, including, On 11 September 2020, it was announced that, as a result of the destruction at Juukan Gorge, CEO

Jean-Sébastien Jacques Jean-Sébastien Dominique Francois Jacques (born October 1971) is a former chief executive officer of Rio Tinto Group. He succeeded Sam Walsh in July 2016. He was succeeded by Jakob Stausholm in early 2021. Jacques had been named by the Harvar ...

and two other Rio Tinto executives would step down. The

(NNTC) welcomed the move, but said that there should be an independent review into the company's procedures and culture to ensure that such an incident could never happen again. Rio Tinto admitted their error, issued an apology via media and on their website, and also committed to building relationships with the

s as well as getting Indigenous people into leadership roles in the company. One analysis of what went wrong in Rio Tinto to allow the destruction to occur suggested that processes failed at several levels, but mainly due to its "segmented organisational structure", a poor reporting structure, and Indigenous relations not being properly represented at a high enough level. Simon Thompson, chairman of Rio Tinto corporation, announced on 3 March 2021 that he would resign despite record profits. No politician was held accountable for the destruction of the Juukan caves.

Parliamentary inquiry

The "Inquiry into the destruction of 46,000-year-old caves at the Juukan Gorge in the Pilbara region of Western Australia" was referred to the Joint Standing Committee on Northern Australia on 11 June 2020, to report by 20 September 2020. Rio Tinto appeared before the inquiry in August and admitted that it did not advise the

s of other options besides blasting. Senior executives did not learn of the significance of the site until 21 May. The chair, Liberal MP

Warren Entsch Warren George Entsch (born 31 May 1950) is an Australian politician who was a long-serving member of the House of Representatives for a total of 26 years, from 1996 to 2007 and from 2010 to 2025, representing the Division of Leichhardt. He is a ...

, requested permission from

Premier of Western Australia The premier of Western Australia is the head of government of the state of Western Australia. The role of premier at a state level is similar to the role of the prime minister of Australia at a federal level. The premier leads the executive br ...

Mark McGowan Mark McGowan (born 13 July 1967) is an Australian former politician and naval officer who served as the 30th premier of Western Australia from 2017 until his retirement in 2023. He was the leader of the Western Australian branch of the Austr ...

for a small group of politicians and staff to travel to the region in order to have face-to-face hearings with traditional owners early in September.

Hansard ''Hansard'' is the transcripts of parliamentary debates in Britain and many Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth countries. It is named after Thomas Curson Hansard (1776–1833), a London printer and publisher, who was the first official printe ...

will ensure accurate reporting of the meetings, and extra precautions are necessary because of the

COVID-19 pandemic in Australia The COVID-19 pandemic in Australia was a part of the COVID-19 pandemic, worldwide pandemic of the coronavirus disease 2019 () caused by SARS-CoV-2, severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first confirmed case in Aust ...

. Apart from Entsch, the members of the Inquiry were: * Senator Anthony Chisholm (Deputy Chair) *

Anika Wells Anika Shay Wells (born 11 August 1985) is an Australian politician who has been a member of the Australian House of Representatives, House of Representatives since the 2019 Australian federal election, 2019 federal election. She is a member of t ...

MP * Senator Patrick Dodson * Senator

Rachel Siewert Rachel Mary Siewert (born 4 November 1961) is an Australian politician. She was a senator for Western Australia from 2005 to 2021, representing the Australian Greens, and served as the party's co-deputy leader from 2017 to 2018. She previously ...

* Senator Matthew Canavan *

George Christensen George Robert Christensen (born 30 June 1978) is an Australian politician, currently serving as a member of the Mackay Regional Council. He was a member of the House of Representatives from 2010 to 2022, serving as the member for the divisio ...

MP * Senator

Dean Smith Dean Edwards Smith (February 28, 1931 – February 7, 2015) was an American men's college basketball Coach (basketball), head coach. Called a "coaching legend" by the Basketball Hall of Fame, he coached for 36 years at the University of North C ...

* Phillip Thompson MP *

Warren Snowdon Warren Edward Snowdon (born 20 March 1950) is an Australian former politician who served as a member of the House of Representatives from July 1987 to March 1996, and again from October 1998 until May 2022. Initially representing the Division o ...

Submissions

There were 160 submissions received by the committee between June and November 2020. Tanya Butler, who was WA registrar of Aboriginal heritage sites and secretariat of the Aboriginal Cultural Materials Committee (ACMC), was questioned by

during the inquiry. The ACMC is responsible under the ''

'' for assessing applications to disturb Aboriginal heritage sites under Section 18 of the Act, but the definition of an Aboriginal site had been changed over the years. Butler said that the ACMC had not been aware of the full significance of the Juukan Gorge sites when it was assessed in 2013. Submission 152 showed that Rio Tinto had received ministerial consent to damage the site in 2013 under Section 18 in the pursuit of expanding their

mining operations. The PKKP had not objected to Section 18, despite having

Interim report (December 2020)

On 9 December 2020, the inquiry published its interim report, entitled ''Never Again''.PDF
/ref> The report "highlights the disparity in power between Indigenous peoples and industry in the protection of Indigenous heritage, and the serious failings of legislation designed to protect Indigenous heritage and promote Native Title". Seven recommendations were made, including a moratorium on mining in the area and rehabilitation of the site. The report also recommended that compensation should be paid to the traditional owners. It said that the destruction of the caves was "inexcusable", and also called upon mining companies to voluntarily stop acting on existing approvals. While the inquiry and report was bipartisan, there was one dissenting voice with regard to the moratorium; Western Australian Liberal senator

was concerned that essential work on infrastructure would be unnecessarily delayed. The report also recommends that the Western Australian Government review and reform the current state heritage laws, and that the

federal government A federation (also called a federal state) is an entity characterized by a political union, union of partially federated state, self-governing provinces, states, or other regions under a #Federal governments, federal government (federalism) ...

review the ''

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Heritage Protection Act 1984 The ''Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Heritage Protection Act 1984'' (Cth), is an Act passed by the Parliament of the Commonwealth of Australia to enable the Commonwealth Government to intervene and, where necessary, preserve and protect ...

''. It also outlines deficiencies in the WA Act. After the publication of the report, Senator

Pat Dodson Patrick Lionel Djargun Dodson (born 29 January 1948) is an Australian Indigenous rights activist and former politician. He is often referred to as the "father of reconciliation" owing to his commitment to reconciliation in Australia. He was a ...

tweeted "The destruction of these ancient sites was a disaster for our nation and the world". The inquiry investigated the failings of state and Commonwealth heritage protection laws, as Rio Tinto's action was technically legal, after they had obtained permission in 2013, under Section 18 of WA's ''Aboriginal Heritage Act 1972'' to go ahead with their blasting operations. The process included discussions with Aboriginal people, industry experts, and the larger community. The full report (called ''A Way Forward'') was published on 18 October 2021.

New legislation

In 2021, the '' Aboriginal Cultural Heritage Act 2021'' was passed, superseding the ''Aboriginal Heritage Act 1972'' from 1 July 2023. The new act puts

traditional owners Native title is the set of rights, recognised by Australian law, held by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander groups or individuals to land that derive from their maintenance of their traditional laws and customs. These Aboriginal title rig ...

at the centre of the decision-making process about heritage management. In this act, Local Aboriginal Cultural Heritage Services, native title and other Aboriginal corporations will play a critical role in managing and surveying heritage locations. On 8 August 2023, the premier of

announced that the act would be

repeal A repeal (O.F. ''rapel'', modern ''rappel'', from ''rapeler'', ''rappeler'', revoke, ''re'' and ''appeler'', appeal) is the removal or reversal of a law. There are two basic types of repeal; a repeal with a re-enactment is used to replace the law ...

ed and the 1972 act reinstated and amended. The amended 1972 law came into effect in Western Australia on 15 November 2023. One change is the new statutory Aboriginal Cultural Heritage Committee, with majority Aboriginal membership. It will make recommendations to government on "Section 18" decisions regarding Aboriginal sites. The first test of the law came in February 2024 with an incident violating the new law, regarding waterways in Shire of Toodyay.