Sandfire’s biggest shareholder AustralianSuper requests ‘urgent’ meeting over Aboriginal heritage debacle

The nation’s biggest superannuation fund – and top investor in Sandfire Resources – has joined industry peers in demanding answers from the copper miner after it admitted to destroying Aboriginal artefacts. AustralianSuper confirmed it had questions for Sandfire just days after it revealed to the Australian Securities Exchange it had destroyed artefacts at its now-shuttered DeGrussa mine in WA several times more than five years ago, without reporting it to the State Government. “We are seeking an urgent meeting with the company so as to better understand what has occurred,” an AusSuper spokesman told The West Australian in a short statement. The super fund goliath manages nearly $300 billion of retirement savings on behalf of 3.2 million members. It also controls 14.7 per cent of Sandfire’s register, making it the company’s largest shareholder by some margin. Asset manager State Street takes number two spot with a 6.1 per cent holding. On Wednesday top 20 Sandfire shareholder Rest Super told The West it was “deeply concerned by reports of the destruction of cultural artefacts” and will meet with Sandfire to seek more information. “The protection of First Nations peoples’ cultural heritage is very important to Rest and a subject we prioritise in our engagement with listed companies,” a spokesman for Rest said. After Sandfire’s admission to the market last Thursday, The West revealed the miner had become aware it had destroyed the artefacts at the Monty deposit within DeGrussa’s operations in October last year. A heritage survey undertaken in 2016 by the Yugunga-Nya traditional owners identified two sites at DeGrussa — 150km north of Meekatharra — containing more than 90 designated artefacts. On Monday, The West also revealed the issue was escalated from beyond the mine site team at DeGrussa during the period when Sandfire was trying to sell the mine. Sandfire formally kicked off the process to divest its nearly depleted DeGrussa operation last December. The copper mine failed to attract suitors and was subsequently mothballed during the June quarter. Following queries by The West, a spokesman for Aware Super — which is a top-10 shareholder with a stake just under 2 per cent — on Tuesday said the super fund also wanted answers from the miner. “Understanding the distress that will be felt about this issue within the community, we’re keen to learn more about what has happened, how it happened, and why it’s taken time to come to light,” the spokesman said. Aware is Australia’s third-biggest super fund with about $160b. Premier Roger Cook last Friday said Sandfire was responsible for “egregious actions” and he called on Aboriginal Affairs Minister Tony Buti to investigate the destruction events. West Perth-based Sandfire, which has a market value of about $2.9b, operates in Spain and Botswana after exhausting copper supply at DeGrussa. Sandfire did not respond to The West’s request for comment.