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Rio's Mining rhetoric to fall on deaf ears

14 March 2001- Gundjehmi Aboriginal Corporation Media Release - The Mirrar people of Kakadu today roundly condemned comments by Rio Tinto CEO Leigh Clifford that the company may develop the controversial Jabiluka uranium mine. Spokesperson for the Mirrar, Jacqui Katona, said the company has demonstrated a poor understanding of its legal obligations to the Traditional Owners and will receive a poor response from the international community.

"There remains absolute opposition to the development of Jabiluka by the Mirrar traditional owners and Mr Clifford's comments indicate a campaign of bullying and strong-arm tactics," Ms Katona said.

Ms Katona said substantial questions that the Mirrar have pursued regarding sacred sites and environmental management remain unanswered.

"Is Leigh Clifford willing to desecrate a sacred site and escalate negative social impacts on Aboriginal people to save face on an acquisition minor to the overall Rio group? This will certainly raise further international attention.

"To date Energy Resources of Australia has reaped the benefit of a 20-year campaign of transporting an artificial Aboriginal population to the Kakadu region. It is no surprise that Rio is claiming that Aboriginal people support the development of Jabiluka. It is the mining company that has created this so-called support."

Claims by Rio (which acquired ERA in August 2000) that ERA has a 'solid' environmental record are undermined by the facts at Ranger and Jabiluka.

"The serious and systemic failure of water management practices at both Ranger and Jabiluka belie the claim that ERA has environmental credibility. Only yesterday the Mirrar addressed the dumping of contaminated water from a storage pond at Jabiluka into the mineshaft."

At a meeting of the governing committee of Gundjehmi Aboriginal Corporation the Mirrar yesterday called on the Australian Government to honour its commitment to UNESCO last December to appoint a water specialist to the Office of the Supervising Scientist. The call arose from news that on 13 February ERA had resorted to dumping contaminated water from the so-called interim water management pond to the mineshaft in a bid to manage large volumes of water from the current wet season.

"ERA claims this pond was designed to withstand a 1 in 10,000 year rainfall event and yet within just three years it has reached maximum capacity and the company has been forced to these desperate measures.

"Rather than inflaming the situation with meaningless mining company rhetoric, Rio now has an opportunity to positively address its legal obligations to the Mirrar people," Ms Katona said.

Further information: jabiluka issues page - includes news index and external links