Mining Company Fined For Sacred Site Desecration

In a landmark ruling in the Northern Territory, a mining company has been fined $150,000 for desecrating a sacred site for the Aboriginals.

OM (Manganese) Ltd has been asked by the courts to pay the damages for desecrating the site known as “Two Women Sitting Down at Bootu Creek”, located at the Tennant Creek. The mining company did not deny that they have physically damaged the spiritual area.

The court under Magistrate Sue Oliver ruled that the company did not even foresee the damages to the site and claims about doing so was seen as “wilful blindness” on their part.

The site is sacred to the Kunapa tribe and relates to their belief about a rat and a bandicoot fighting over a bush tucker, with their bloods spilled all over the site’s rocks. The tribe sees the red colour of these rocks as the blood of the animals. The rocks are scientifically classified as having the characteristics of manganese.

A representative of the community said that the desecrated site has now “significantly changed” and has no worth and meaning to the Aborigines.

Dr. Ben Scambray, the CEO of the Aboriginal Areas Protection Authority, has expressed his disappointment over the damage, but thanked the courts for handling the ruling with due process.

He said, “When a sacred site is desecrated or damaged it tears the social fabric of the affected community as the harmony of those people is inherently linked to that sacred site.”

Sites like these are an integral part of Australian’s culture for its historical significance and appeal to tourism for the last 50,000 years.

The ruling against OM (Manganese) Ltd is the first in the history of the courts.