News: SFR UPDATE 1-Sandfire external probe finds Aboriginal cultural heritage damage due to process...

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June 5 (Reuters) - Sandfire Resources (SFR) said on Wednesday an external probe had found the miner damaged Aboriginal cultural heritage at a copper mine in Western Australia due to "ignorance and process failings".

Damage to artefact scatters at the Monty copper mine, northeast of Perth, occurred in 2017 and 2018 due to a series of process failures during the construction of a satellite mine. However, it came to the company's attention only in September 2023.

"Sandfire's failure to protect the artefact scatters and to quickly escalate the issue once identified is unacceptable," Sandfire Chair John Richards said in a statement.

Shares of the company slipped as much as 5.6% to A$8.86 by 0029 GMT, while the broader benchmark (xjo) was up 0.2%.

The damage, which was first flagged by the Australian miner in November last year, had led the traditional owners, the Yugunga-Nya, to demand the executive team step down after failures to address the situation.

Aboriginal heritage protection has come into the spotlight since Rio Tinto destroyed rock shelters in Western Australia's Juukan Gorge in 2020 that had contained evidence of continual human habitation stretching back into the last Ice Age.

The findings of the probe, which was ordered by the company, confirmed that Sandfire's then executive management failed to define line accountability for heritage, while ensuring measures were in place to manage heritage deeper within the organisation.

"Sandfire recognises the magnitude of these findings and has committed to an extensive programme of work designed to ensure the protection of cultural heritage across all of its operations," Richards said.

A draft of the investigation has been shared with the Yugunga-Nya, the company said.