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Rio Tinto CEO Jean-Sébastien Jacques and two other top executives leave the global miner after their board gave in to intense pressure from investors to crack down on their decision to blow up 46,000-year-old rock shelters. at Juukan Gorge in the Pilbara.
Rio Tinto said Jacques was leaving “by mutual agreement” with the board.
Iron ore chief Chris Salisbury and corporate affairs chief Simone Niven will also depart, Rio Tinto said Friday morning.
The move came after a week in which investors lined up to denounce the board’s earlier decision to cut short-term bonuses for executives over the scandal as inappropriate and the head of a parliamentary commission investigating the matter said his concern that the company had given misleading information. evidence for research.
Despite leaving the company, all three will continue to be entitled to long-term bonuses, Rio Tinto said.
Rio Tinto blew up the rock shelters, which were very important to the traditional owners of the area, the Puutu Kunti Kurrama and Pinikura (PKKP) people, in May, in order to be able to extract better quality iron ore, despite knowing for years its importance.
In response to protests from indigenous groups and investors, Rio Tinto’s board carried out a review of the decision, which led to the reduction of bonuses.
“While there is a general recognition of the transparency of the board’s review and support for the recommended changes, important stakeholders have raised concerns about executive responsibility for the flaws identified,” Rio Tinto said.
The Australasia Center for Corporate Responsibility welcomed the end of “dishonest upheaval from Rio Tinto’s board of directors and senior management,” said James Fitzgerald of ACCR.
“Shareholder democracy and investor action are alive and well in Australia. Corporate captains may think twice about trying to mislead investors, not to mention a parliamentary investigation, in the future, “he said.
The National Native Securities Council welcomed Rio’s actions, but said the company must make a “structural change” to ensure a disaster like Juukan does not happen again.
“There is more work to be done,” said Jamie Lowe of NNTC. “It is necessary to strengthen the law. We cannot rely on the good will of the mining companies, we need the law to be strengthened. We can’t take his word for it that things will get better. “
In a move that recognized that the board has not been involved with Australian affairs, the company will also promote from a non-executive director to a senior independent director responsible for the oversight of its Australian-listed division, Rio Tinto Limited.
Sam Laidlaw will continue as senior independent director responsible for the UK half of the group, Rio Tinto plc.
“What happened in Juukan was wrong and we are determined to ensure that the destruction of a heritage site of such exceptional archaeological and cultural importance never occurs again in a Rio Tinto operation,” said Rio Tinto President Simon Thompson.
“We are also determined to regain the trust of the Puutu Kunti Kurrama and Pinikura people and other traditional owners.
“We have heard concerns from our stakeholders that the lack of individual accountability undermines the group’s ability to rebuild that trust and move forward to implement the changes identified in the board’s review.”
