Engineering Ethics: Rio Tinto Juukan Gorge Destruction Report

This report analyzes the Rio Tinto's destruction of the Juukan Gorge, a culturally significant site, and the ensuing ethical and business dilemmas. It examines Rio Tinto's company structure, ethical issues before and after the incident, and the consequences of their actions, including the loss of executive positions and damage to the company's reputation. The report utilizes contractarianism and ethical decision-making frameworks to evaluate the company's failures in consulting with the indigenous community and respecting cultural heritage. It also highlights the importance of ethical considerations in engineering, emphasizing the need for proactive measures to prevent similar incidents. The report provides recommendations for the company to improve its ethical practices and avoid future conflicts of interest, including the use of a rational realistic approach to identify stakeholders and evaluate potential consequences. The report concludes with a call for organizations to prioritize ethical considerations and the importance of cultural heritage.

Figure 1: The Cultural Heritage of Juukan George. (Ken, 2021)
ENS2159: Engineering Innovation and Ethics
Assessment 1
Rio Tinto’s Destruction of Juukan Gorge
Report on Juukan Gorge Scandal
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Executive summary
In the last few decades, as consumers have become increasingly dependent on
technology, innovation has turned out to be a significant role in the accomplishment of any
organization. The goal of innovation is to improve ideas, products and processes. According to
this technique, companies can not just ensure an enhanced standard of living for clients as well
as improve their productivity, revenue and reputation (Tout, 2020). Furthermore, the ethics of
engineering is the learning of decisions, values and issues merged inside the effort of engineers.
Engineering integrity aims to identify potential ethical issues to avoid potential problems.
Learning from past mistakes, engineers can take advantage of past moral or technical problems
to get achievements. The report determines the demolition of Rio Tinto’s Juukan Gorge cavern
for CSR and ethical investigation of deviations inside the enterprise. According to the research,
the structure of Rio Tinto is disconnected therefore internal and external roles including act in
agreement with ethical standards as well as containing systems of prevention, punishment and
surveillance. It turns the low-level managers to perform impulsive leading to immoral realistic
actions (Whitehead, 2020). Rio Tinto’s achievement depends on faith among every partner
containing host groups, business associates, administrations, clients, stakeholders and suppliers.
The report will also elaborate on what steps should take to avoid failure of future destruction by
Rio Tinto.
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Table of Contents
Executive summary.........................................................................................................................2
Introduction......................................................................................................................................4
Company overview..........................................................................................................................4
Business ethical issues and important ethical concerns on the scandal...........................................6
Business ethical issues.................................................................................................................6
Important ethical concerns before and after the incident.............................................................7
Before the incident...................................................................................................................7
After the incident………………………………………………………………………….....7
Consequences of the Juukan George Scandal.................................................................................7
Realistic actions to overcome ethical issues....................................................................................9
Recommendations............................................................................................................................9
Conclusion.....................................................................................................................................10
References......................................................................................................................................11
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Introduction
Since May 2020, the Rio Tinto organization has been in the news for blasting Juukan
Gorge, which the Aboriginal people considered culturally sacred containing two rock
accommodations of impressive ethnographic, archaeological and cultural consequence. Amongst
these shelters indicates had proof that the history of its nonstop residence courting back 46,000
years, which makes it’s an international and national milestone (Wirth et al., 2016). It violated
the Puutu Kunti Kurrama and Pinikura (PKKP) an important part of an individual's living
culture. Their grief over the loss is indescribable, as the committee personally experienced this
situation while on the ground. The community had discussions with Rio Tinto in 2013 regarding
the plans to blast the place to start iron mining after preserving some of the artefacts on the
heritage site. The story highlighted in the financial times painted an image of an organization
trying to balance ethical and business interests but has found it complicated (Southalan, 2021).
While pursuing profits that will benefit the organization and the community in the form
of jobs and better lives, the company needs to balance the areas that the community is willing to
forego to the mining company with no conflict of interest (Tout, 2020). Due to the blasting of the
Juukan Gorge without adequate consultation from the local community, indigenous groups,
Australian politicians, and investors reacted with fury compelling the resignation of three
executives, including the CEO, Jean-Sebastien Jacques. According to the (Hunt, 2020), cultural
diversity and heritage had not been accorded the respect they deserve since they are hard to
measure and the fact that they remain diffuse. The discussion will analyse the organization's
ethical issues using rational ethics arguments and the ethical decision-making framework.
Company overview
Rio Tinto is an Anglo-Australian mineral resource company headquartered in the UK.
The company was originated in 1873, Spain. Currently, the organization is among the top three
iron ore producers inside the globe and also participates in copper, aluminium, energy,
diamonds, gold, industrial minerals and other businesses (Reynen, 2018). From 1962 and 1997,
the enterprise alliance with several powerful mining organizations and in 2000 successfully
attained the northern Australian mining organization as well as became a comprehensive
frontrunner in exploration, resource, mineral, processing and extraction (Pearson, 2020).
Company-controlled by Hamersley iron ore corporation limited. It is the second-largest iron ore
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production company in Australia and the Pilbara district of Western Australia, it has five
formation mines containing Tom Price, Parabud, Buckman Malanda, and Chana with established
assets of approximately “2.1 billion tons”, the corporation's yearly production of iron ore is about
80 million tons. Rio Tinto, with a market worth of £6.5billion. The corporation's entire resources
are broken down by district is approximately 88% focussed in North America and Australia
(D’Agostino et al., 2017).
Figure 2 Rio Tinto has outperformed its rival
Figure 3 dividends of Rio Tinto and its competitors
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Business ethical issues and important ethical concerns on the scandal
Business ethical issues
Rio Tinto faced with a social dilemma regarding their stand on social issues and the
pursuance of profits for the shareholders. One of the ethical arguments that the organization can
utilize in avoiding conflict in their business is the contractarianism approach (Shrivastava and
Vidhi, 2020). The contractarianism approach will enable the company to achieve its ethical
objective of ensuring equality and justice for all the society members in which the business is
established. Since the issues facing Rio Tinto concern society and the shareholders, the
contractarianism approach will enable the organization to create equality and social justice (Ben-
Meir, 2020). Based on this model, which assumes the establishment of a social contract between
the mining organization and the other stakeholders, Rio Tinto looks like they did not respect part
of their social contract with the aboriginal communities when blasting the PKKP. The
organization has even been accused of being cruel in their blasting timing by carrying out the
exercise in the Eave of the “Black Lives Matter” campaign that was protesting against racial
discrimination of coloured people worldwide. Therefore, Rio Tinto lacked respect for the cultural
events surrounding the blasting period in 2020, such as when the aboriginal people recognize the
stolen generations among the minority aboriginal and strait islanders (Arthur and Carman, 2020).
According to the social contract theory, the members of society such as the aboriginal
have the role in endorsing and abiding by the fundamental social rules, the laws of the
jurisdiction, the various institutions such as the government, and society's principles in question.
Therefore, Rio Tinto failed to listen to the aboriginal community as they proposed in 2014 that
the Juukan Gorge contained more than what they have evaluated in the previous year. As the
research of (García-Gómez and Pérez-Cebada, 2020), it actually noted three more mining options
that the organization could have pursued in mining without destroying the 46,000 years old
heritage site but then presented one option only and relied on section 18 of the Australian
constitution. The organization has a social contract to notify all the stakeholders of the various
options that could help the various partners reach an agreement on the best alternative that could
not heart any of the shareholders, especially the community around Juukan Gorge (Batterham,
2017).
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As one of the rational ethical arguments, Jean Sebastian lost his position as the CEO of
Rio Tinto in a single blast when he had done well over the years before blasting the heritage
centre. The contractarianism steps, such as being motivated by self-interest but being rational in
action free from bias, could have helped the leadership of the organization realize the three
primary goods identified (Wensing, 2021). Therefore, the ethical decision-making framework is
another option that could help in evaluating the social dilemma facing Rio Tinto.
Rio Tinto failed to tell traditional owners of the gorge, knowing that they stood foregoing
some iron volume if another alternative was pursued even though that option existed. It is
important to note that in the contractarianism approach, the various members of society may
have different conceptions about what they describe as good (Pearson, 2020). As seen in the case
between Rio Tinto and the aboriginal community, the original people were ready to compromise
but the company did not bother to consult further on the importance laid on the heritage site over
mining (Legg et al., 2020). Therefore, the blasting of the Juukan Gorge resulted in a situation in
which one member of the contract violated the provisions in the contract while hiding some
explorable facts such as the alternative mining approaches available.
Important ethical concerns before and after the incident
Before the incident
 Rio Tinto engineers have repeatedly made dubious choices.
 Federal law does not provide for substantive protection.
 The decision made by Rio Tinto executives gives the company a profit over the value of
the inheritance (D’Agostino et al., 2017).
After the incident
 Neglect the Significant evidence of rock bunker and application form errors.
 Instead of focusing on the responsibilities of heritage, it is better to compare with external
partners and interests (D’Agostino et al., 2017).
 It is ridiculous that there are not enough legislative systems in Western Australia and at
the federal level to preserve the indigenous heritage (Boyce and McDonald, 2020).
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Consequences of the Juukan George Scandal
The reputation of Rio Tinto was crumbled and 3 board of directors lost their jobs due to
the incident. The casualties are mounting and the bodies piling up (Southalan, 2021). It reminds
the vulnerability of local culture and history to the demands of the government as well as the
company. The location is considered amongst the most important area in the Pilbara and most of
their companies have utilized the opportunity to examine present agreements and evaluate
procedures to maintain partnerships with traditional owners that currently occupied (Shrivastava
and Vidhi, 2020). When directors and executives change corporate entities, it usually leads to a
reorganization of the bridge, the board of directors are under siege. Presently, the company is
considered under the community Environment and Human Settlement Act. Furthermore, the
consequences are:
 Latest artefacts found at the spot including 24,000 years old skeletal and 4,000 years old
belt on a piece of fabric from human hair (Whitehead, 2020).
 The deliberate destruction of a precious heritage will bring most ordinary citizens to
court.
 The highest explosion of the Buddha in the globe (Wensing, 2021).
 After the explosion, the CEO of Rio Tinto was paid $ 12.86 million. Therefore, the
chairman of Rio Tinto has resigned following an explosion in the cave (Hunt, 2020).
 Individuals massively protested over racial discrimination of coloured people globally.
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Figure 4 Analyst perform on price target on Rio Tinto
Realistic actions to overcome ethical issues
It will be more appropriate to utilize these actions, since it is used in a situation where
several people will be affected regardless of the organization's decision, such as Rio Tinto. The
benefit to achieves a rational realistic approach where several alternatives are considered, their
stakeholders identified before the organization makes each action (Bird and Rhoads, 2020). In
evaluating the case of Rio Tinto, the Fact-Finding will be limited to the case around the blasting
of Juukan Gorge between 2013 when the negotiations began to 2020 when Rio Tinto decided to
blast the gorge. Several steps include:
 Finding of facts.
 Identification of issues.
 Determining the investors.
 Investigating the feasible substitutes.
 Assessing the substitutes.
 Creating documents regarding the actions.
 Executing the selected action.
 Surveillance of the results.
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Recommendations
 The company should make sure every possible conflict of interest is notified to each
appropriate party during management (Shrivastava and Vidhi, 2020).
 Rio Tinto needs to determine the actual consequences after the scandal and ethically take
realistic actions (Bird and Rhoads, 2020).
 The organization must aware of the several aspects of engineering ethics and should give
precedence to time, goals and prosperity.
 Rio Tinto should examine the reputation of an engineering squad before an incident while
taking a realistic actions approach (Boyce and McDonald, 2020).
 During making the report, the organization should demonstrate a diversity of practical
awareness without engaging in any immoral proceedings (Wensing, 2021).
Conclusion
It is concluded that an organization is faced with a social dilemma of issues likely to
affect more than one stakeholder, the ethical realistic actions approach is more appropriate to
prefer. Since the Rio Tinto Juukan George scandal affected the community around Pilbara,
contractarianism appears to be the most appropriate approach that could ensure that all the
stakeholders are put into perspective during the mining exercise (D’Agostino et al., 2017). The
administration ensures that the community must play a vital part to protect heritage through an
agreement with Australia's international commitments to territories and states. The disaster is a
significant example for other organizations as it is the theory of value, prosperity and production.
By violating the social contract, Rio Tinto continues losing the social capital they had built over
a long period (Batterham, 2017). If the organization had employed the contractarianism
provisions, then they could avoid conflict as each stakeholder could understand the reason
behind each alternative chosen by Rio Tinto.
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References
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