Rio Tinto agrees to publish review into destroyed heritage site

Rio Tinto has agreed to make public a review into its decision to destroy the Juukan Gorge Aboriginal heritage site after political and investor pressure over the botched operation.

The FTSE 100 miner has appointed Michael L'Estrange, a former Australian high commissioner to the UK, to lead the review into the destruction of the site in Western Australia.

L'Estrange, a Rio Tinto non-executive director, will examine the company's heritage management processes and recommend governance improvements. The report is scheduled for October.

Rio Tinto has been criticised by large shareholders and politicians since the Puutu Kunti Kurrama and Pinikura people (PKKP) revealed the company had destroyed the 46,000-year-old site in May to expand its Brockman 4 mine. The blasting of the site has damaged its relationship with the PKKP, which holds native title over the Brockman 4 area.

Rio Tinto had previously said the destruction of the site, and another historic location, was caused by a misunderstanding and that it would reveal details of its review to the government but not the public.

Simon Thompson, chairman of Rio Tinto, said: "On behalf of the Rio Tinto board, I would like to apologise to the Puutu Kunti Kurrama and Pinikura people. The decision to conduct a board-led review of events at Juukan Gorge reflects our determination to learn lessons from what happened and to make any necessary improvements to our heritage processes and governance."