Rio Tinto board could face pressure on Indigenous broken promise claim

The traditional owners of the rock shelters said Thompson had told them Rio’s acting head of iron ore, Ivan Vella, who had led reconciliation efforts, would see the process through to its end, The Australian newspaper reported on Thursday, citing a letter to Rio from the traditional owners.

Rio announced last week that Vella would move to Canada to head up its aluminium business, while Chief Commercial Officer Simon Trott would take charge of iron ore.

The PKKP had told Rio of their concerns that frequent leadership turnover prevented the groups building longstanding relationships of trust, the newspaper said.

The destruction last year of the 46,000-year-old Juukan Gorge rock shelters, while legal, sparked a public and investor uproar that led to the resignation of then CEO Jean-Sebastien Jacques and two deputies, and a promise by Rio Tinto to repair ties.

Thompson is likely to face increasing pressure to step down, given the recent spotlight on social issues that is worrying investors, even with solid financial results, said David Lennox of Fat Prophets in Sydney which holds Rio shares.