A First Nations group in Victoria has inked a deal with the state's largest gold mine that will result in traditional owners receiving a portion of annual profits.
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Canadian company Agnico Eagle operates the Fosterville Gold Mine in central Victoria and signed the agreement with the Dja Dja Wurrung people this week.
Dja Dja Wurrung Clans Aboriginal Corporation chief executive Rodney Carter said the deal was made after realising stopping mining on their lands was not an option.
"We had to grapple with this idea that minerals exploration mining can be a bit of a blight - a scar that can create sort of problems," he told ABC Radio Melbourne on Tuesday.
"As a people we had to move very quickly to a degree of resolve. Not as an incentive but a resolve that people are generating wealth, taking wealth from country.
"We all know where our displacement, disadvantage has gotten us, we can no longer afford not to be a beneficiary in these forms of activity."
The agreement - Bakaru Wayaparrangu, means "in the middle, we all meet" in Dja Dja Wurrung language.
It follows seven years of negotiations and represents the first agreement in Victoria between traditional owners and an active mining operation.
Dja Dja Wurrung people will be able to have some influence on the environmental impact of the mine and remediation works after the mine closes, as part of the deal.
Employment, training and business opportunities for traditional owners will be provided and new jobs will be created to implement the agreement.
President and chief executive of Agnico Eagle, Ammar Al-Joundi, said the move is part of its wider reconciliation plan with Indigenous peoples both in Australia and overseas.
"This agreement allows us to strengthen our ties with the local community through respectful and meaningful engagement, ensuring that we honour our privilege with responsible stewardship," Mr Al-Joundi said.
"We are determined to leave a lasting positive legacy in the region, creating enduring benefits that outlive our operational presence."
It comes weeks after Victorian Environment Minister Lily D'Ambrosio told the Yoorrook Justice Commission that active efforts were being made to steer mining revenue streams to Aboriginal groups.
The total value of gold extracted since colonisation in Victoria in today's terms is $287.4 billion.
Between 2010 and 2023, Victoria's royalties totalled $149.4 million for gold, $885.6 million for coal and $79.5 million for sandstone and gravel but that has not flowed to Aboriginal people.
Australian Associated Press
