Yindjibarndi Traditional Owners have been awarded $150.1m in native title compensation linked to Fortescue’s (ASX: FMG) Solomon Hub, marking Australia’s largest court-determined native title compensation award in history.
Justice Stephen Burley handed down the judgment in Perth on Tuesday, accepting the economic loss claim and awarding an additional $100,000.
This is only the third Federal Court determination of its kind, following the McArthur River judgment earlier this year, in which Traditional Owners in the Northern Territory were awarded about $54m.
The dispute dates back to failed land access negotiations before Solomon entered production.
The case was brought against the State of WA and Fortescue after the Yindjibarndi people secured recognition of exclusive native title rights over a substantial part of their country in 2017.
Fortescue unsuccessfully appealed the 2017 native title judgment, with a subsequent High Court special leave application also failing.
Ahead of the ruling, the Yindjibarndi people were seeking more than $1b for cultural and economic losses, while Fortescue sought to limit compensation to about $8.1m and the State argued compensation should be in the range of $5m to $10m.
Justice Burley said moving evidence was received from lay witnesses as to the effect of the mining operations on their land and their attachment to it.
The Australian Mining Review has reached out to Fortescue for comment.
