Rio Tinto blows up 46,000-year-old sacred indigenous site in Australia

By Dilip -
Mining giant Rio Tinto has apologized after blowing up a 46,000-year-old sacred indigenous site with dynamite to expand an Australian iron ore mine. The site, in Juukan Gorge, in Western Australia state's resource-rich Pilbara region, featured two cave systems that contained artifacts indicating tens of thousands of years of continuous human occupation.

Grinding stones, a bone sharpened into a tool and 4,000-year-old braided hair were among almost 7,000 relics that had been discovered at the site, according to CNN affiliate 7News. Rio Tinto is one of the world's largest mining companies and has vast operations in Australia. Its iron ore mines make up more than half of its revenue.


The May 24 demolition went ahead despite a seven-year battle by the local custodians of the land, the Puutu Kunti Kurrama and Pinikura People, to protect the site....
https://edition.cnn.com/2020/06/01/business/rio-tinto-pilbara-sacred-site-intl-hnk-scli/index.html

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