THEN WHAT?
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Environment & Indigenous AffairsAustralia · 2020

Juukan Gorge: a new agreement and the work to rebuild

After the destruction, Traditional Owners secured a new mining framework. The reconstruction project is a separate, unfinished undertaking.

This update: 12 March 2026 · Latest recorded development
Article revised 10 October 2026

THE ORIGINAL STORY26 May 2020
Michelle Stanley and Kelly Gudgeon
26 May 2020
Pilbara mining blast confirmed to have destroyed 46,000yo sites of 'staggering' significance
Juukan Gorge before the blast: the shelter in 2013 and after land clearance in 2020Puutu Kunti Kurrama and Pinikura Aboriginal Corporation
Read the original report

The destruction becomes public.

The May 2020 breaking reports confirmed the destruction of ancient rock shelters at Juukan Gorge. Rio Tinto’s later announcement dates the blast to 24 May. The ABC report reproduced the company’s account of the 2013 ministerial consent and the Traditional Owners’ distress. Its pre-blast photograph records the place being discussed. The later question is what changed after that loss—not whether a replica can make the original shelter intact again.

THEN WHAT?

A co-management agreement followed. A replica is being developed.

Editorial illustration of a rocky landscape

PKKP and Rio Tinto announced a co-management agreement in June 2025. By early 2026, designers were working on prototypes for a replica of Juukan 2. PKKP’s March update described further planning. This does not mean the original rock shelter has been restored.

Co-management announcement · PKKP Aboriginal Corporation · 2 June 2025

The story, in dates

Event dates
Scroll back through the story
  1. “Pilbara mining blast confirmed to have destroyed 46,000yo sites of 'staggering' significance”

    ABC News · Original headline

  2. Amended law takes effect

    The 2021 legislation is repealed.

  3. Agreement announced

    A new framework for operations on PKKP Country.

  4. Replica work progresses

    Prototypes and planning, with no completion claim.

Announced 2 June 2025

An agreement for future mining decisions

The agreement covers Rio Tinto’s iron ore operations on PKKP Country. The parties describe earlier engagement with Traditional Owners throughout the mine lifecycle. Rio Tinto says the broader terms were signed in May, before the fifth anniversary; June was the public announcement. The agreement sets a framework for future decisions. It is not evidence that every future heritage risk has been eliminated.

Co-management announcement · PKKP Aboriginal Corporation · 2 June 2025 · Agreement and signing chronology · Rio Tinto · 2 June 2025 · Independent reporting on the agreement · ABC News · 2 June 2025

October 2025–March 2026

Reconstruction is a project, not a completed restoration

ABC reported plans for a full-scale replica around the remaining site in October 2025. CDM Studio describes modelling informed by photographs and Traditional Owners’ memories, and says stage-two prototypes began in January 2026. PKKP’s March update recounts a delegation’s visit to replica caves in France as part of planning. These are documented project steps; they do not establish completion.

Reconstruction planning update · PKKP · 12 March 2026 · Juukan 2 project and January 2026 prototypes · CDM Studio · Reconstruction reporting · ABC News · 16 October 2025

15 November 2023

The law changed, then changed again

Western Australia repealed its 2021 cultural heritage legislation and brought an amended Aboriginal Heritage Act 1972 into effect. The government’s November 2023 notice describes stronger participation in approvals, a prohibition on gag clauses and equal review rights for native title parties. This legal change and the later co-management agreement are distinct measures. Neither recreates the original shelter.

Amended heritage law in effect · WA Government · 15 November 2023

The evidence

Sources for this update

  1. 01Co-management announcement · PKKP Aboriginal Corporation · 2 June 2025
  2. 02Agreement and signing chronology · Rio Tinto · 2 June 2025
  3. 03Independent reporting on the agreement · ABC News · 2 June 2025
  4. 04Reconstruction planning update · PKKP · 12 March 2026
  5. 05Juukan 2 project and January 2026 prototypes · CDM Studio
  6. 06Reconstruction reporting · ABC News · 16 October 2025
  7. 07Amended heritage law in effect · WA Government · 15 November 2023

Where the story stands

The story continues when the evidence does.

Status checked on 10 October 2026. This account follows co-management and reconstruction, with the latest dated PKKP project update on 12 March 2026. It does not claim to cover every later archaeological discovery or other mining agreement, or to verify a completed replica.

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