Courtesy Gabrielle Timmins/Kimberley Land Council/Handout via REUTERS/File PhotoMELBOURNE, Nov 28 (Reuters) - Global miner Rio Tinto Ltd (RIO.AX) has reached a restitution agreement with an Aboriginal group whose rock shelters in Western Australia it destroyed two years ago for an iron ore mine, the groups said on Monday.
"Nothing can compensate for or replace the loss suffered at Juukan Gorge, so this is an outcome orientated legacy to ensure something positive will come from it for years to come," PKKP Aboriginal Corp Chairperson Burchell Hayes said.
The two groups are in advanced talks about a co-management of mining agreement, the PKKP added.
"We fell far short of our values as a company and breached the trust placed in us by the PKKP people by allowing the destruction of the Juukan Gorge rock shelters," Rio Tinto Chief Executive Jakob Stausholm said.
As well as the legacy foundation, remedy discussions have centred on ongoing rehabilitation of the rock shelters and their surrounds at Juukan Gorge, Rio said.