OM Holdings subsidiary OMM has been fined $150,000 for desecrating a sacred site in the Northern Territory.
It marks the first time a desecration case has been successfully prosecuted under Australian law.
OMM is a subsidiary of OM Holdings, a minerals group based in Singapore with 100 per cent ownership of the Bootu Creek manganese project in the Northern Territory.
OMM had been charged with damaging and desecrating the Two Women Sitting Down sacred site within the boundaries of its Bootu Creek mine 170 kilometres north of Tennant Creek, where it has been mining for more than six years.
OMM pleaded guilty to one charge of damaging the sacred site, which it said was unintentional, and contested the two charges of desecration. The conpany was fined $30,000 for the damges.
In the Darwin Magistrates Court today OMM was found guilty of one count of desecration, for which it was fined $120,000, because the possibility of damage to the sacredness of the site was a foreseeable consequence of its mining activities.
The other charge of desecration was dismissed.
Magistrate Sue Oliver said OMM had chosen profit before protection at its mine and contravened the Northern Territory Sacred Sites Act 1989.
Aboriginal Areas Protection Authority chief executive officer Ben Scambary said the result was a historic win, which recognised how important Aboriginal sacred sites are.
“This site has great significance to the custodians and relates to a dreaming story about a marsupial rat and a bandicoot who had a fight over bush tucker. As the creation ancestors fought, their blood spilled out, turning the rock a dark-red colour that is now associated with manganese,” he said.
Mr Scambary said the site’s custodians were ineligible for any compensation under the Act and the $150,000 fine would go to the Northern Territory government.
He said that most miners in the Northern Territory were operating in a responsible manner but in this case, OMM’s repeated blasting and excavating of ore next to the site had led to the collapse of the sacred site.
OMH chief executive officer Peter Toth said that OMM accepted the court’s ruling and regretted the damage caused.
“The company never intended to harm, damage or disrespect the sacred site. We sincerely regret the damage and the hurt caused and I unreservedly apologise to the site’s custodians and traditional owners,” he said.
“While OMM encountered unexpected ground conditions in the Masai pit, it is clear that our pit design and mining activities contributed to the damage at the site. As soon as that damage was identified we executed a comprehensive remediation plan, including ongoing monitoring, which helped to secure the site and prevent further damage,” he said.
He said the lessons learned from the incident had been fully incorporated into OMM’s mining practices.
