Pitfalls and Pipelines - Philippine Indigenous Peoples Links

330 Pitfalls and Pipelines: Indigenous Peoples and Extractive Industries
US$2 billion operation including a mine site, port facilities and a 260-km
rail line to connect the two, being built across land that has significant
heritage value to indigenous peoples. It is a highly speculative venture,
built on borrowed money and heavily reliant on forward sales of iron ore to
the booming China market. It is expected that once they are operating, the
mine will produce 45 million tons of iron ore per annum.
FMG is one of many major mining companies operating in the Pilbara.
Others include international giants BHP-Billiton and Rio Tinto. Together
they are all creating a highly competitive environment for the employment
of local indigenous peoples. FMG’s vocational and education training
program already has 435 job applicants listed on its database and they
currently employ 78 indigenous peoples. FMG’s goal is to employ more
local Aboriginal people than any other company. As well as regular mining
jobs, the program will include employment in the areas of landscaping,
maintenance, cross cultural training, and rehabilitation on mine closure.
FMG now works closely with the traditional owners to undertake salvage
work that includes the removal of artefacts and analysis of grinding
patches on sites of significance. The salvage work will give more
knowledge on how Aboriginal people lived and used the land over time.
Burrup Peninsula
The Burrup Peninsula, also in the remote Pilbara of Western Australia, is
part of the Dampier Archipelago, approximately 1,200 km north of Perth.
It is an interesting example of a very large-scale development project
(Woodside natural gas processing plant), impacting on an indigenous
heritage precinct of major international significance.
At the heart of the archipelago of 42 islands, islets and rocks is the
Dampier Rock Art Precinct, which contains thousands of rock carvings and
paintings dating back thousands of years and which are extraordinary for
their diversity and density. The area also marks the fate of the Yaburara
people, who were massacred over an 8-day period in 1868, known as the
“Flying Foam Massacre.”
The entire area is hugely significant to the local indigenous peoples.
In controversial circumstances, a major multi-billion dollar natural gas
processing plant on the Burrup Peninsula has already been given the
green light by the Western Australian State Government. Meanwhile, the
area has been nominated to be listed on the National Heritage List in
order to protect the remaining rock art.