Fortescue Metals Group's mining operations in Western Australia's north have left Aboriginal elders feeling "sick" and "heartbroken", the Federal Court has heard.
The court is hearing a compensation claim from the Yindjibarndi Aboriginal Corporation [YAC] over the company's activities at the Solomon Hub iron ore mines in the Pilbara region.
YAC was awarded native title over the area in 2017, and in 2020 saw off Fortescue's [FMG] opposition to the decision after the High Court refused to grant leave to appeal.
Negotiations over a land use agreement later fell through, paving the way for the compensation claim which would force FMG to pay royalties.
The claim is based on economic and cultural loss as FMG was effectively mining on Yindjibarndi land without permission.
YAC said it was seeking $500 million per year from the company led by Andrew Forrest.
Elders Tootsie Daniel and Margaret Read gave evidence on Tuesday from Roebourne and Karratha respectively.
They both said they never wanted the mines to go ahead.
Mrs Daniel said she was a senior Yindjibarndi woman and told the court about the spiritual significance of the land where FMG operated.
She said the disturbance caused by mining had taken an emotional toll on her community.
"It’s all barren. Because the mining is happening there," she said.
"It makes us really sad, it breaks our heart. I would say don’t touch that country, it’s sacred."
Ms Read, who earlier gave evidence from a hospital bed in Karratha, said hearing blasting at the mine had left her feeling "sick".
"Two loud bangs made me feel really sick … because our country was being destroyed," she said.
Community divided
The long-running dispute has divided the Yindjibarndi community, as FMG backed a breakaway group called Wirlu-murra Yindjibarndi Aboriginal Corporation.
When asked about the issue in court, Ms Read said she tried to reconcile the differences between the two groups, but had not succeeded.
"I tried so many mediation programs, I spoke with my people out on the street and tried different ways of trying to communicate with them to come back with us," she said.
Mrs Daniel also faced questions about the breakaway group.
She said divisions in her community continued to run deep.
"We’re all related but we don’t talk much … I don’t want to get involved," she said.
FMG has previously said it was open to negotiating an agreement on similar terms to the deals it has with other Aboriginal groups in the Pilbara.
The company's lawyers declined to question Mrs Daniel and Ms Read, but flagged objections to the elders' evidence, which the court would address at a later date.
The hearing continues, with further evidence to be heard on country in the remote Pilbara in August.
