Rio Tinto accused of not being upfront with shareholders about its environmental impacts at Perth AGM
Rio Tinto has been accused of failing to address what a group of traditional owners in Western Australia's north describe as "decades of hurt" caused by some of its mines.
The company owns two iron-ore mines within the Robe River Kuruma native title area in the state's Pilbara region, 1,400 kilometres north of Perth.
Rio Tinto has been at loggerheads with those traditional owners over how much groundwater it was extracting from the area for its mining operations.
There's been iron-ore mining on Robe River Kuruma country in the Pilbara since the 1970s.
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ABC News: Charlie Mclean
)
At Rio Tinto's annual general meeting (AGM) in Perth on Thursday morning, Robe River Kuruma woman Deanna McGowan accused the company of not giving her people a fair share of revenue from one mine and for not rehabilitating areas damaged by mining back in the 1980s.
"We do not forget. We cannot forget," Ms McGowan said during public question time.
"Until you remedy your past, it stains our future together too."
Rio Tinto chairman Dominic Barton told Ms McGowan the company was committed to updating its agreements with her people, and solving the dispute over water.
"We acknowledge the impact mining is having on water and we are committed to rectifying and improving that,"
Mr Barton said.
Rio Tinto chair Dominic Barton speaking ahead of the company's 2024 AGM.
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YouTube: Rio Tinto
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The company's iron ore chief executive Simon Trott repeated the company's plans to reduce its groundwater use in the Pilbara by pivoting to a desalination plant currently being built in Dampier.
"The desal plant is progressing well. We will turn that on next year," Mr Trott said.
He also acknowledged the two parties were further away from reaching an agreement over compensation for historical mining damage.
"There are some issues where we need to continue to work with each other to find a solution."
Investors not getting the full story
Robe River Kuruma Aboriginal Corporation chief executive Anthony Galante said the details of these disputes weren't being fully reported to investors in Rio Tinto's Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) reports.
"These are just examples where Rio Tinto tells you what they want you to hear," Mr Galante told the ABC ahead of the meeting.
"And doesn't provide all the data that is required to have a full and proper understanding of the impacts of its operations."
Photo shows
A waterfall within a deep red and blue gorge, as seen from a low angle.
The condition of Karijini National Park's spectacular gorges worries traditional owners and business operators as the tourism season looms.
Since the early-2000s, a desire for "ethical investing" in the financial sector has put pressure on multi-national companies to produce detailed ESG reports.
But Mr Galante said for the most part these reports lack independent scrutiny, with companies given free reign on what evidence they choose to highlight.
"I'll give an example in relation to water," Mr Galante said.
"Rio Tinto has established a website to track the amount of surface water it uses, but it emits to tell the story about how much groundwater it uses."
"That's an important issue because Rio Tinto has an aquifer in our country and we believe they have been over extracting water."
Global scrutiny
The Robe River Kuruma people aren't the only group accusing Rio Tinto of glossing over environmental issues linked to its global mining operations.
At the company's London AGM last month, human rights collective the London Mining Network accused the company of down-playing the environmental impacts from five of its mines in five separate countries.
Photo shows
Two dark-skinned hands holding some red dirt in their hands
Increasing demand for water and longer dry spells contribute to mass tree deaths in the state's mining heartland, say traditional owners.
"Rio Tinto has repeatedly undermined these concerns, silenced voices, ignored research findings ... and insisted upon its own frequently unsubstantiated technical and ESG claims," a London Mining Network statement said.
A Rio Tinto spokesperson told the ABC it welcomed the scrutiny of its stakeholders, communities and civil society organisations.
"We have engaged with the London Mining Network and their members on multiple occasions about these five sites," the spokesperson said.
"In some cases, outcomes require complex, multi-stakeholder processes."
The company also denied claims its ESG reports lacked independence.
"We use independent experts at all our operations and are members of leading global initiatives that determine our standards for working with communities and environment."
Big investment in WA mines
Mr Barton also used the AGM to outline further investment in the company's WA operations, including the development of what the company says may become the biggest iron ore mine in Australia.
"Over the next three years we expect to invest more than US$13.3 billion in new mines, plant and equipment in the Pilbara," Mr Barton said.
"We're also studying Rhodes Ridge, which may one day become the biggest iron ore mine built in Australia, potentially producing more than 100 million tonnes per annum."
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