Rio Tinto should pay restitution for sacred Aboriginal caves blast - inquiry

FILE PHOTO: A sign adorns the building where mining company Rio Tinto has their office in Perth, Western Australia, November 19, 2015. REUTERS/David Gray

MELBOURNE (Reuters) - Mining giant Rio Tinto Ltd should pay restitution to Indigenous Australians affected by its destruction of two ancient rock shelters to expand an iron ore mine, an inquiry panel said on Wednesday.

The panel released an interim report in which it also recommended Rio Tinto should fully reconstruct the rock shelters in Western Australia's Pilbara region at its own expense, and laid out broader industry guidance that included reviewing consent practices and a moratorium on mining in the affected places.