The Yindjibarndi Aboriginal Corporation’s compensation claim over impact of the Solomon mine on their land has been exaggerated, Fortescue’s lawyer told the court.
The Yindjibarndi Aboriginal Corporation’s compensation claim over impact of the Solomon mine on their land has been exaggerated, Fortescue’s lawyer told the court.
The Roebourne-based group sued Andrew Forrest-led Fortescue Metals Group and the State of Western Australia in the Federal Court of Australia, alleging the mining company started mining on Yindjibarndi people’s land without the traditional owners’ permission.
In the action, which started in 2022, the Yindjibarndi Aboriginal Corporation claimed financial compensation over the alleged economic, cultural and spiritual loss because of Fortescue’s Solomon iron ore mine operating in the Pilbara.
YAC recently amended its compensation claim, seeking about $1.8 billion from Fortescue and adding allegations of social disruption within the Yindjibarndi community.
A hearing has been held in the Federal Court in Perth since last week, with lawyers presenting their closing submissions before judge Stephen Burley.
Barrister Brahma Dharmananda, representing Fortescue, told the court there was no dispute that the Yindjibarndi people was entitled to compensation.
However, Mr Dharmananda said there were many issues on YAC’s claims.
“The applicant’s claim for economic loss is exaggerated,” he told the court.
“The application does not seek to quantify the compensation …instead the claim wrongly focuses on a royalty percentage of the FOB sell value of the minerals on the land.
“The Yindjibarndis’ claim on non-economic, cultural and spiritual loss is an ambit claim made, in our submission, on an unprincipled basis.
“Valuing spiritual or cultural loss by reference to the value of minerals never owned by the Yindjibarndi, in our submission, is incorrect.”
YAC previously told the court that traditional owners were owed a percentage of the royalties derived from the Solomon mine’s revenue.
In court, Mr Dharmananda said YAC and its economic experts incorrectly focused on the value of the minerals.
“It’s wrong to confuse the actual impact with the actual value of the minerals in the land or a percentage of revenue made from minerals,” he said.
“Yindjibarndi people did not need to consent to the grant of the tenements.
“There’s no right to a greater amount of compensation because Yindjibarndi did not consent to the grant of the FMG tenements.
“The native title holders are not permitted to hold the state and the mining company up in progressing projects in the state or the national interest.”
YAC submitted its compensation claim in 2022, but the dispute over the Hamersley Ranges land and mining prospects on the site had been ongoing for more than a decade.
In 2011, the Federal Court dismissed YAC’s appeal over the state government’s decision to grant three mining leases to Fortescue in Roebourne.
But the Federal Court ruled the Yindjibarndi people had exclusive rights over the contested Pilbara land in a 2017 judgment.
The Yindjibarndi people applied for native title over the area in Roebourne since 2003, two years before Fortescue geologists discovered the Solomon deposits in the Hamersley Ranges.
Fortescue lost its appeal over the native title ruling in 2019.
YAC also claimed Fortescue caused social disharmony in the Yindjibarndi community by financially backing a group that broke away from the main organisation, according to its closing submissions document.
The Wirlu-murra Yindjibarndi Aboriginal Corporation (WYAC) was established in 2012 by members who claimed YAC was not properly representing the Yindjibarndi people's interests, despite being the lawfully authorised agent for the group.
Fortescue has denied it has caused a social disruption, claiming a rift was already brewing within the community before the Solomon mine project.
Mr Dharmananda will continue his closing submissions in court this week.
