Aborigines to Get Diamond Mining Royalties in Argyle Deal
June 09, 05
Three years after starting negotiations, West Australian Aborigines will receive jobs and anywhere between $38 million to $76 million in mining royalties from Argyle Diamonds, after reaching what is hailed as a historic agreement.
The Aborigines are a downtrodden and often neglected member of Australian society, their plight exemplified by a local newspaper headline that said “blacks” will receive royalties.
The Gija and Miriwoong peoples, the traditional owners of the remote East Kimberley region where the Argyle diamond mine is located, and Argyle Diamonds signed the agreement yesterday. The Indigenous Land Use Agreement (ILUA) includes an approval for an underground expansion of the mine since the current open-pit diamond mine is slowly depleting.
An underground exploration tunnel is now being dug to determine if the expansion is feasible.
The ILUA calls for Argyle to pay benefits into two trusts: a charitable trust which secures a capital fund for future generations and creates funds to support law and culture, education and training and community development partnerships; and a discretionary trust which allows for benefits to be provided to the traditional owners for the agreement area.
Exact details of the financial arrangements were not made public, however it is understood that the benefits are a certain percentage of diamond sales.
The agreement sets mutual recognition of the interests and rights of both sides. After mining operations end, the land is to be returned to the traditional owners.
In addition to the ILUA, Argyle and the traditional owners have entered into a Management Plan Agreement that governs the day–to-day relationship of the parties.
This includes the increased participation of the indigenous people in the mines workforce, which recently has increased from five percent to over 20 percent.
Argyle Diamonds is a subsidiary of diversified miner Rio Tinto, which also holds a 60 percent stake in the Diavik diamond mine in Canada’s Northwest Territories.