00:00 This image shows the before and this the aftermath of the blast.
00:07 A rock and a tree dislodged from the edge of a cave, believed to contain evidence of
00:11 ancient human habitation.
00:13 The site is close to the Namuldi mine near Tom Price.
00:17 It's raised fresh concerns iron ore giant Rio Tinto isn't protecting significant Aboriginal
00:22 heritage sites, despite making international headlines over the destruction of two ancient
00:27 rock shelters at Jukun Gorge in 2020.
00:30 Traditional owners, the Winter Wurri Guruma, say they are disappointed by the report, but
00:35 are yet to establish the extent of the impact on the rock shelter.
00:38 For its part, Rio Tinto says it's examined the site with a drone and doesn't believe
00:43 there's been any damage to culturally sensitive materials, but is planning a site visit to
00:47 be sure.
00:48 We're sorry that this has occurred.
00:50 We're working with Muntagurra Guruma to really understand what happened and ensure we make
00:54 whatever changes we need to make to our controls.
00:57 I'm deeply disappointed that we're in this situation again.
01:00 Yet again, particularly with Rio Tinto, we would have thought that they would have learnt
01:04 their lesson, particularly from Jukun Gorge.
01:07 The WA Greens Senator saying the latest incident demonstrates the need for overarching federal
01:12 heritage protections.
01:14 Aboriginal cultural heritage is the domain of states and territories predominantly, but
01:19 what we need is harmonisation of that.
01:21 Queensland MP Warren Ench was the chair of an inquiry into Jukun Gorge and worries not
01:26 enough has changed.
01:27 A lot of the recommendations that we put forward and the commitments that Rio made after the
01:34 destruction of the Jukun rock shelter, I asked the question how much of that, of their commitments,
01:42 have they actually carried out?
01:44 The traditional owners say they hope to independently establish the facts in the coming weeks.
01:49 [BLANK_AUDIO]
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