Yindjibarndi Win Record A$150.1 Million From Fortescue Over 2,700-Sq-Km Unauthorized Mining
Updated
Updated · BBC.com · May 12
Yindjibarndi Win Record A$150.1 Million From Fortescue Over 2,700-Sq-Km Unauthorized Mining
2 articles · Updated · BBC.com · May 12
A Federal Court judge awarded the Yindjibarndi people A$150.1 million after finding Fortescue mined on their Pilbara land without permission, setting Australia’s largest native title compensation payout.
A$150 million of the award covers cultural loss and just A$150,000 economic loss, with the court citing the group’s “deep and visceral connection” to country and damage to traditional attachment and spiritual sustenance.
The case capped a fight stretching nearly 20 years: Yindjibarndi secured exclusive native title over 2,700 sq km in 2017, but Fortescue had already developed its Solomon Hub mines with government and another Aboriginal group’s approval, not YNAC’s.
Yindjibarndi had sought A$1.8 billion—arguing for 1% of mine production value and compensation tied to about 250 cultural sites—while some elders called the final sum “peanuts” against Fortescue’s tens of billions in revenue since 2013.
A record A$150M payout is called 'peanuts.' What is the true price for destroying sacred land?
Will the green energy transition now be built on Indigenous co-ownership, not just compensation payouts?