Toro Energy Limited has taken another important step in the development of the Wiluna Uranium Project with the signing of an agreement with the Wiluna People providing the consent of native title holders.
More than seven years of relationship building between the Wiluna People and Toro culminated in a community meeting at Wiluna to ratify the agreement.
Toro’s Managing Director, Dr Vanessa Guthrie, expressed the Company’s deep appreciation for the constructive approach the Wiluna People had taken to the development of their relationship with Toro and the negotiation of the mining agreement.
Speaking for Tarlka Matuwa Piarku Aboriginal Corporation (TMPAC – the native title holding body of the Wiluna People) its Chairman, Kelman Patch, said the agreement provided opportunities for his People in business development and employment, as well as protection of their cultural heritage.
“Our people have been able to negotiate a strong agreement to protect their interests and to pursue benefits and opportunities from this Project,” he said.
Dr Guthrie said that at the start of Toro’s engagement with the Wiluna People, it was important for the Wiluna people to understand how uranium mining may affect their land, their culture and their health.
“Throughout this process, Toro has provided the Wiluna People with the means to secure their own independent advice about the issues of greatest importance to them,” Dr Guthrie said.
“As a result, they have reached a position where they can give full and informed consent to Toro’s development proposals on their land.”
The primary objectives of the agreement are to:
- Maintain and further develop a mutually beneficial long-term relationship between the Wiluna People and Toro
- Ensure the impacts of Toro’s activities on the Wiluna Native Title Holders’ fights and interests, on Wiluna Country and on the environment are minimised
- Ensure the Wiluna People are kept informed of, and are consulted about Toro’s activities, particularly in relation to cultural heritage and environmental impacts
- Provide compensation for the impact on Wiluna Native Title Holders’ native title rights and interests and on Wiluna country; and
- Provide funding and other benefits to the Wiluna Native Title Holders to protect country and maintain traditional law and culture
The agreement recognises opportunities for a range of business and employment initiatives. Toro has already provided funding to build the capacity of the Wiluna People to undertake environmental and radiation monitoring. Both Toro and the Wiluna People aspire to extend this into other areas of environmental work such as groundwater monitoring, mine closure and rehabilitation.