Federal Court orders Fortescue to pay $150m in record native title compensation
The ruling values cultural loss at $150m while economic claims were assessed at $100,000, following the destruction of 140 heritage sites
The Federal Court of Australia has ordered mining giant Fortescue to pay $150 million in compensation to the Yindjibarndi traditional owners. This landmark decision, delivered by Justice Stephen Burley, marks the largest native title compensation payout in Australian history. The court determined that the Solomon Hub iron ore mine caused significant cultural and social harm, including the destruction of 140 heritage sites and profound spiritual damage to the community.
Justice Burley ruled that while Fortescue generated an estimated $80 billion in revenue since operations began in 2013, the economic loss claimed by the Yindjibarndi was calculated at just $100,000. In contrast, the cultural loss was valued at $150 million. The hearing took place on-country in the Pilbara, with Justice Burley travelling 1,500km north of Perth to hear from community witnesses.
Evidence presented to the court included the relocation of 240 heritage sites and the complete destruction of 140 cultural sites. Elders described the land as "barren" and stated that the community's "Nurra, soul and spirit" were destroyed. In his 350-page judgment, Burley found that the Yindjibarndi suffered both tangible and intangible losses, noting that their connection to the country was deep and visceral.
The ruling addresses allegations that Fortescue funded a "breakaway group" of traditional owners to secure land use agreements, which allegedly caused social disharmony within the Yindjibarndi community. Lawyers for the Yindjibarndi Ngurra Aboriginal Corporation (YNAC) argued that the community suffered profound cultural and spiritual harm not only from the mining operations but also due to the rupturing of long-held community and family ties.
The Yindjibarndi people were awarded exclusive native title rights to their land, including the area where the Solomon Hub mine sits, in 2017. The compensation case was lodged in 2022 after Fortescue's failed appeal of their native title claim. YNAC's chief executive, Michael Woodley, is the chief applicant in the matter.
The courtroom was packed with elders, community members, children and babies, with more than a thousand people also watching the federal court livestream. The decision represents the culmination of a decades-long fight by Yindjibarndi traditional owners, who first filed the native title claim in 2003.
