Nyiyaparli Sign Agreement for Iron Valley Project

In Tom Price this week, the Nyiyaparli people signed a Land Access Deed with Iron Ore Holdings Ltd (IOH) that delivers important protection for country and support to the Iron Valley project.


Nyiyaparli country is situated in the central Pilbara region of Western Australia and covers approximately 36,684 square kilometres of land, including the mining town of Newman.


The agreement, which covers the Iron Valley project, provides a range of benefits to the Nyiyaparli people including contracting opportunities, cross cultural awareness training for IOH employees and a rigorous framework for agreement implementation. More importantly the agreement provides for consultation on environmental and heritage matters, which allows the Nyiyaparli people to retain their rights under Aboriginal heritage and environment legislation in order to protect areas of cultural and environmental significance.


The Nyiyaparli people, represented by Yamatji Marlpa Aboriginal Corporation (YMAC), are now looking to build upon the spirit of cooperation and good faith they developed with IOH during the agreement negotiation process.


Simon Hawkins, CEO, Yamatji Marlpa Aboriginal Corporation, said the agreement was an example of a mining company working cooperatively and negotiating in good faith with Traditional Owners. “The Nyiyaparli people appreciated the company’s willingness to sit down and negotiate with the group. The next step is to build on this relationship and see the agreement successfully implemented.”