Rio Tinto chiefs lose millions in bonuses over destruction of Juukan Gorge

Internal review finds mining giant failed to meet Indigenous cultural heritage standards but critics say penalties are pocket change'

Rio Tinto chief executive Jean-Sebastien Jacques has lost almost $5m in bonuses and the head of Rio Tinto's Australian iron ore group will lose more than $1m over the destruction of a 46,000-year-old Aboriginal heritage site at Juukan Gorge, after an internal review found systemic failures in the cultural heritage management system".

The mining company destroyed two rock shelters in Juukan Gorge in the Pilbara region of Western Australia on 24 May, despite having received five separate reports on the significance of the sites, both archeologically and to the local Puutu Kunti Kurrama and Pinikura (PKKP) people, since 2013.