The planned Mulga Downs iron ore mine in Western Australia faces a fresh threat after the Banjima Native Title Aboriginal Corporation (BNTAC) said it is withholding consent to the project, citing unresolved cultural heritage, water use and environmental concerns.
The $1 billion development, proposed by Hancock Prospecting and originally designed to produce 20 million tonnes of iron ore a year, was scaled back to 12 million tonnes last October after objections from BNTAC. In an August newsletter to members, BNTAC said the company’s subsequent redesign had not addressed the group’s core concerns and that the board would determine whether to support the proposal before it is taken to the broader community for a final decision.
BNTAC said its heritage teams uncovered a rock shelter and ancient rock art panels in the project area that it described as "remarkable," and estimated the shelter’s age at about 45,000 years. The discovery has renewed sensitivities about Indigenous cultural sites after the destruction of the Juukan Gorge caves in 2020, which triggered international condemnation and changes in how mining companies manage heritage.
Hancock Prospecting said the site was identified during joint surveys and that the company had already revised the Mulga Downs design to reduce its physical footprint and water demand. "Hancock Prospecting has been funding and conducting surveys for many years, and has proactively identified sites of interest," company spokesperson James Radford told The Australian Financial Review. "The Mulga Downs project design was substantially reconfigured to address matters raised by the traditional owners, including a large reduction in the proposed mine itself. Private consultations held in good faith on the Cultural Heritage Management Plan are still ongoing, so it is inappropriate to comment further."
BNTAC’s objections go beyond heritage discovery. The corporation says serious concerns remain about the project’s potential impacts on water resources and the broader environment. Those issues, together with the newly disclosed heritage site, have complicated negotiations and increased uncertainty over whether the mine can proceed under current Native Title arrangements.
Parts of the proposed development also overlap land claimed by the neighbouring Kariyarra people, who may need to be consulted separately. The overlapping claims add a further layer of complexity to approvals and community consent processes in the Pilbara region.
The Mulga Downs project would be one of several major resource developments in the Pilbara, where large-scale iron ore operations generate substantial economic activity. BNTAC has previously entered commercial agreements with major miners, and its charitable trust reported net assets of A$207.6 million as of June 2023, illustrating how Indigenous groups in the region have engaged materially with the resources sector while maintaining firm positions on cultural heritage.
The Banjima announcement does not represent a final rejection of the mine, but it signals that agreement is not imminent. Under the process BNTAC described, the corporation’s board will decide whether to support Hancock’s proposal, and only then would a community-level vote be undertaken. Until those steps are completed, and any outstanding heritage and environmental issues are resolved, the future of the Mulga Downs development remains uncertain.
The dispute comes as regulators, Indigenous groups and mining companies continue to reassess heritage protections and consultation practices following past industry controversies. The outcome at Mulga Downs will be closely watched by proponents and opponents of resource development, as well as by Indigenous communities seeking to safeguard cultural sites while engaging in economic opportunities.
Hancock Prospecting and BNTAC are continuing private discussions, and both sides have said negotiations are ongoing. No final timetable for a decision by the BNTAC board or for a community vote has been released.