An Australian Federal Court has delivered a decision on the Native Title Compensation Claim raised by the Yindjibarndi Ngurra Aboriginal Corporation (YNAC), finding Fortescue (ASX:FMG) liable to pay compensation to the YNAC.
The total compensation to be paid by Fortescue is broken down into approximately $100,000 plus interest for economic losses and $150 million for cultural losses.
The court will release its decisions and rationale at a later date, which Fortescue plans to review once published.
The Yindjibarndi people filed a native title claim over land in the Pilbara region of Western Australia in 2003. In 2017, the court conferred on them exclusive rights to possession, occupation, use, and enjoyment of parts of the land, as well as non-exclusive native title rights and interests over the remainder of the determination area.
While the application for determination was underway, the State of Western Australia granted several mining tenements — either wholly or partially located within this determination area — to various companies, including Fortescue, which then developed the Solomon Hub Project on site. The project commenced operations in 2012.
The YNAC has been seeking compensation for the impacts of the mining tenements on the native title rights and interests of the Yindjibarndi people, noting economic loss as a percentage of profits from the Solomon Hub Project. The YNAC pointed to the established Pilbara practice, where companies typically pay around 0.5% royalties to traditional owners — a rate that Fortescue did not pay.
That loss is calculated as a percentage of royalties over the project’s life (expected to run through 2045), with estimated losses exceeding $800 million.
The YNAC also sought $1 billion in compensation for cultural losses resulting from the grant of the mining tenements.
Fortescue issued a notice stating that Executive Chairman and Founder Dr Andrew Forrest, along with the whole company, is committed to First Nations relations, including with the Yindjibarndi community, and that the company accepts the decision regarding compensation.
Fortescue is a technology, energy, and metals group focused on commercialising decarbonisation across the sector.
Write to Amy Rotman at Mining.com.au
Images: Fortescue
