Gina Rinehart's prospecting company has considered digging for iron ore in the asbestos-riddled area around Wittenoom.
Documents released through Freedom of Information (FOI) show Hancock Prospecting considered mining the area and told the WA government how it would manage asbestos risk on contaminated country in the state's Pilbara region.
The plans, written by Hancock in 2008, were recently obtained by Chapple Research on behalf of Banjima traditional owners, who have now released them to the public.
The traditional owners were seeking information about whether Hancock had ever expressed interest in the Wittenoom site.
Release of the newly found documents has reignited debate about whether the government should clean up the deadly asbestos contamination in and around Wittenoom, an area considered to be the largest contaminated site in the southern hemisphere.
Banjima elder Maitland Parker said his people wanted to see their land rehabilitated, and were strongly opposed to any future mining in the place they call Ngambigunha.
"It's an absolute shambles at the moment, what the state government is doing. It's not fair," he said.
The plans were lodged with the Department of Mines, Industry Regulation and Safety, and the key document relates to a mining tenement 8 kilometres south of the Wittenoom town site and immediately north of Karijini National Park.
It is an asbestos management plan that "identifies and mitigates risk of human exposure" to asbestos for activities on the tenement such as drilling, construction and driving.
Deadly blue asbestos litters the tenement and the surrounding land, including mountains of tailings left over from the disastrous mines historically led by Ms Rinehart's father, Lang Hancock.
Ms Rinehart, Australia's richest person, built her multi-billion-dollar fortune on the back of lucrative iron ore operations in WA's north.
Government 'stalling' clean up
Any future mining in the area would require further approvals, but the confirmation of communication between the government and Hancock has angered traditional owners, who say they were not consulted.
Mr Parker said he was furious more mining on his country had been considered while nothing had been done to clean up the asbestos.
"They've been stalling and stalling the clean up of Wittenoom," he said.
"It just makes your blood run hot. No-one is actually willing and able to sit down, talk and explain everything."
Wittenoom was de-gazetted in 2007, and officially closed by the state government earlier this year, with plans to remove the final residents and demolish the remaining buildings.
However, no government has ever committed to rehabilitating the land, with Lands Minister John Carey previously stating it is unlikely the area will ever be safe to visit.
Mr Parker said the lack of clarity from the government was preventing Banjima people from living on their land without risking serious diseases caused by asbestos.
The problem is personal for Mr Parker, who suffers from mesothelioma.
"We're still subject to the tailings and [risk] contracting either asbestosis or mesothelioma," he said.
"My concern is for my people, especially the younger generation if they contract it, then it puts a spanner in the works for the health of the people, and the health of our country."
The ABC approached Mr Carey, Mines Minister Bill Johnston and Environment Minister Reece Whitby for comment but all declined to speak on the record.
A government spokesperson said the state government intended to re-establish the Wittenoom Steering Committee later this year to investigate all options for the area.
The spokesperson said Hancock had not contacted any ministers in the government about iron ore operations near Wittenoom, and the company had not applied for a mining lease in the area.
Tenement includes significant sites
The tenement in question is centred on a place called Drillers Ridge, which Mr Parker said was home to multiple significant Aboriginal sites.
"There's engravings, there's paintings in there, caves where people have camped," he said.
"All that area is highly significant to us."
The release of Hancock's asbestos management plan comes after it was revealed the company wanted public roads upgraded, so iron ore could be transported through Wittenoom and Karijini National Park.
This proposal also sparked concerns for Aboriginal heritage sites, and Mr Parker said new mines should not progress without the consent of traditional owners.
"Gina is going to benefit from all that. Whether we, the Aboriginal people, are going to benefit we don't know," he said.
"I don't want any mining there at all."
Hancock Prospecting did not respond to requests for comment.
