PERTH (miningweekly.com) – Major Rio Tinto has launched a board-led review of its heritage management processes within its iron-ore division following the events at Juukan Gorge, with a focus on recommending improvements to the effectiveness of its internal processes and governance.

The company review comes after the Northern Australia Committee commenced an inquiry into the destruction of the Indigenous heritage site, to examine how the destruction of the caves came about, the processes that failed to protect the site, the impact on the Traditional Owners, and the legislative changes required to prevent such an incident from recurring.

Rio on Friday said that its internal review would be conducted by independent nonexecutive director Michael L’Estrange, and would seek input from Rio employees and the Puutu Kunti Kurrama and Pinikura people (PKKP).

The review will be informed through engagement with Indigenous leaders, Traditional Owners and subject matter experts.

The review will focus on events at Juukan Gorge and appraise Rio’s internal heritage standards, procedures, reporting and governance, and will examine the company’s relationship and communications with the PKKP.

The review will commence immediately, with the final report targeted by October 2020, subject to completion of consultative processes with relevant stakeholders.

The review will complement and inform Rio’s cooperation with the Inquiry by the Joint Standing Committee on Northern Australia. The major will also continue to support the West Australian government’s planned reform of the Aboriginal Heritage Act.

“On behalf of the Rio Tinto board, I would like to apologise to the PKKP people. The decision to conduct a board-led review of events at Juukan Gorge reflects our determination to learn lessons from what happened and to make any necessary improvements to our heritage processes and governance. I am very grateful to Michael for agreeing to conduct the review on behalf of the board,” Rio chairperson Simon Thompson said.

“Our immediate priority is to regain the trust of Traditional Owners, starting with the PKKP people. We very much look forward to incorporating the findings of the board-led review into our heritage processes and approach,” Rio CEO Jean-Sebastian Jacques added.