Cases / Mining · Australia · 2020
Rio Tinto Juukan Gorge destruction
Nature's voice · report
Rock shelters in my gorge were destroyed by blasting on 24 May 2020.
Did nature suffer? Yes. Harm is on record.
Not on record
- The record does not name which of my species, waters, soils or forests were harmed.
Rio Tinto destroyed rock shelters at Juukan Gorge in Australia by blasting on 24 May 2020. The shelters are reported to have been 46,000 years old.
24 May 2020Date the Juukan Gorge rock shelters were destroyed by blasting
Date as recorded in the sources reviewed.
Date as recorded in the sources reviewed.
Status As of the latest dated item in the sources reviewed (2020): the destruction is recorded; no court proceeding or penalty is recorded.
What?
Rock shelters at Juukan Gorge were destroyed by blasting.
Where?
Juukan Gorge, Australia.
When?
24 May 2020.
Who?
Gained
None on recordLost
- The Juukan Gorge rock shelters — Destroyed by blasting on 24 May 2020; reported age 46,000 years.
Harmed
None on recordWhy?
The sources reviewed do not state the reason for the blast or the permission under which it took place.
How?
By blasting.
6 of 6 questions answered from the record
What happened
The record, in order.
On 24 May 2020 Rio Tinto destroyed rock shelters at Juukan Gorge in Australia by blasting. The shelters are reported to have been about 46,000 years old.
Rio Tinto had conservation partnerships at the time. The IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature) published a Collaboration Agreement with Rio Tinto, signed on 12 July 2010 and running initially for three programme years; an external mid-term review dated March 2014 refers to a bridging year in 2014. A Fauna & Flora International brochure from about 2013 states that it had worked in partnership with Rio Tinto for over 15 years. Rio Tinto is also listed as a partner of BirdLife International. The sources reviewed contain no notice that the IUCN agreement ended.
- 201012 July: IUCN and Rio Tinto sign a Collaboration Agreement, initially for three programme years
- 2014External mid-term review of the IUCN-Rio Tinto relationship refers to a bridging year in 2014
- 202024 May: rock shelters at Juukan Gorge destroyed by blasting
What was said
Claims, in the words of those who made them.
“one of the most effective ways to protect biodiversity”
“FFI has been working in partnership with rio Tinto for over 15 years.”
How it looked
What was shown, beside what was recorded.
Shown
- Partnership with IUCN under a Collaboration Agreement signed 12 July 2010.IUCN · IUCN
- Partnership with Fauna & Flora International for over 15 years.Fauna & Flora International · Fauna & Flora International
Recorded
- Rock shelters at Juukan Gorge were destroyed by blasting on 24 May 2020.
- The IUCN Collaboration Agreement states: "This Agreement ends following a period of three (3) Programme Years". The amount was not stated.
- An IUCN external mid-term review of the relationship, dated March 2014, refers to a bridging year in 2014.
In court and with insurers
Every proceeding and every insurer decision on record.
Lawsuits and rulings
No court case on record. No court has ruled on this case.
Insurers
No insurer decision on record.
What nature saw
Outcomes measured on the ground, and nature's note.
Nature's report opens this page. Below: further outcomes measured on the ground.
Rock shelters destroyed
Yes
Blasting at Juukan Gorge, 24 May 2020
Age of the shelters
46,000 years
As reported; no primary source reviewed
What we don't know
Undisclosed, unproven, untried: recorded as data.
Figures
- Insufficient Age years: Reported age of the Juukan Gorge rock shelters; no primary source reviewed.
Record
- None on record The Australian Parliament's Joint Standing Committee on Northern Australia is reported of a Parliament page that could not be opened, to have tabled an interim report titled 'Never Again' on 9 December 2020 and to have called the destruction 'inexcusable'; this has not been independently verified.
- Insufficient A statement that 'Rio knew the value of what they were destroying but blew it up anyway' is attributed to the blast of 24 May 2020 without a named speaker; it is not verified.
- Unclear Whether the IUCN, Fauna & Flora International and BirdLife partnerships with Rio Tinto continued after 2020: the current status of the Fauna & Flora International partnership was not verified, and no IUCN end notice was found.
Did the harm stop?
The blast of 24 May 2020 destroyed the rock shelters; the sources reviewed record no restoration.
Who paid?
No penalty, compensation or court outcome is recorded in the sources reviewed.
Sources
Voices on record: — Company or project✓ Government and regulators— Courts— Press and investigations✓ Communities and civil society— Researchers✓ International bodies
Government and regulators
- Never Again (media release on the interim report of the Joint Standing Committee on Northern Australia)Parliament of Australia · 2020-12-09
Communities and civil society
- Working with business for conservation (brochure)Fauna & Flora International · 2013
International bodies
- IUCN's Collaboration Agreement with Rio TintoIUCN · 2010-07-14
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