Aboriginal people in northern Western Australia say they are stuck in limbo, unsure whether 5,000 sacred sites have been destroyed by one of the country's richest mining companies.
In the state's Pilbara region, the iron ore industry has made hundreds of billions of dollars for the nation's economy, exporting minerals from land which is home to countless sacred Aboriginal sites.
In the centre of the region sits the Solomon Hub, which is owned by Andrew Forrest's Fortescue Metals Group (FMG), and is the subject of a bitter legal dispute between the company and the region's traditional Yindjibarndi owners.
Yindjibarndi Aboriginal Corporation (YAC) chief executive Michael Woodley said the hub contained thousands of sacred sites such as birthplaces, rock shelters and burial grounds.
He said they were identified through YAC's recently-launched compensation action against FMG.
In 2020 the High Court confirmed YAC represents native title holders for the area where the hub operates, paving the way for the compensation claim based on economic and cultural loss.
Mr Woodley said he does not know if the sites have been damaged because FMG has engaged a breakaway Yindjibarndi group for its heritage consultation for more than 10 years.
He said traditional owners have cultural obligations to keep sacred sites safe, and being kept in the dark was causing distress to his organisation's members.
"The thing that keeps the Yindjibarndi functioning is that they know exactly what's happening on their country," he said.
"If they don't know, then they can't fulfil the obligation and responsibilities of being the ... people who speak and make decisions for our heritage."
Sites subject to claim
Mr Woodley said FMG has worked with the breakaway group, called Wirlu-Murra Yindjibarndi Aboriginal Corporation, which has received significant funding from the mining giant.
He hopes the compensation process in the courts will force FMG to reveal if the 5,000 sites have been damaged.
"It's kind of extraordinary that these sites have been identified," he said.
The ABC understands mining companies can restrict access to active sites for all people, including traditional owners, for safety reasons.
Laws sideline YAC
Paul Cleary is a journalist, who has observed the dispute since its early days and wrote a book about the saga.
He said FMG should have been dealing with YAC from the start, but they had been sidelined by WA's Aboriginal heritage laws, which the government said would be fully changed by mid-2023.
Dr Cleary said consultation could be done with anyone connected to the land under the current laws, but the new legislation will prioritise native title holders such as YAC.
"There was an amazing amount of evidence from traditional owners about their connection to country and what really emerged from that was the Yindjibarndi Aboriginal Corporation proved to be much more knowledgeable before the court," he said.
YAC looks to new law
Under WA's heritage laws, companies can apply to destroy sacred Aboriginal sites under the controversial section 18 process, which led to the Juukan Gorge scandal — where 46,000-year-old rock shelters were legally destroyed by Rio Tinto in 2020.
The incoming laws will scrap this application process, but a government spokesperson confirmed FMG's 21 pre-existing section 18 approvals for the Solomon Hub would last at least 10 years.
Mr Woodley said any damage to the sites within the Solomon Hub would be heartbreaking for his community.
"We are answerable to a higher being, you know, we are the oldest living culture in the world."
A government spokesperson told the ABC changes to Aboriginal heritage laws would put Registered Native Title Bodies Corporate, such as YAC, at the centre of the consultation process for miners.
Mr Woodley will be closely watching how FMG approaches the new laws when they come into effect, and how the mining giant manages its relationship with YAC.
"The buck stops there, all roads lead to the prescribed body corporates and industry and proponents who are wanting to do something on our country, first and foremost, have to come to that organisation," he said.
FMG did not respond to questions about the current status of the sites within its Solomon Hub or its relationship with YAC.
In a statement, chief executive Elizabeth Gaines said the company aimed to avoid damaging cultural heritage.
Wirlu-Murra Yindjibarndi Aboriginal Corporation were contacted for comment.
