Fortescue Metals Group Ltd’s (ASX:FMG) has been accused of trying to sway the vote of a local indigenous group in order to win approval for a new mine to be built in the Pilbara.
West Australian Opposition Leader Eric Ripper told the ABC that Fortescue inappropriately interfered in the internal politics of the native title group, at a meeting where both Fortescue and a local indigenous group met to discuss a land use agreement for the miners future Solomon iron ore project.
Mr Ripper says a video of the meeting doesn’t give confidence that the meeting legitimately reached a decision.
According to The Australian Financial Review, Fortescue is offering millions of dollars in housing, training and employment to the local indigenous group in exchange for avoiding straight “mining welfare” payments.
The AFR says Fortescue’s founder and CEO Andrew Forrest has denied the allegations and claims Mr Ripper is speaking without knowing the full details.
In the first half of the 2011 financial year Fortescue Metals booked a net profit of $309 million
