Organisational dynamics

Problem

Archaeology and cultural heritage are siloed and buried within broader portfolios, leading to a lack of influence in internal decision-making. The Juukan Gorge parliamentary inquiry revealed that critical archaeological knowledge had no influence on the final decision to destroy the site. It is also the case that Rio Tinto's decision-makers were not sensitised to knowledge of CHM.

Across the industry, mining companies have made important commitments to Indigenous peoples' rights, but many mining professionals are not well positioned to understand the significance of archaeological findings and positively influence cultural heritage protection.

Goal

The goal is to conduct research that analyses the organisational ecosystem within which cultural heritage management (CHM) is practiced in the Australian resources sector. Making progress toward embedding archaeology and CHM as integral to the mining industry's "core business", means improving organisational structures and systems, and supporting professionals across the disciplinary spectrum to forge stronger connections. It also involves building knowledge about remedy processes, where breaches or poor practices may have caused loss and damage for Traditional Owners.
 

Knowledge systems and two-way learning

Problem

Within CHM in the resources sector, Traditional Owner knowledge about the archaeological record is often not understood or respected, despite holding tremendous potential to create a holistic understanding of artefacts and sites.

Equally important is the current informality of Traditional Owner participation in the archaeological survey process, where they are positioned as cultural "monitors" rather than cultural heritage "specialists". Furthermore, mining industry leaders (mine managers, executives) typically have physical science, business and/or engineering backgrounds and have limited exposure to the complexity of Indigenous knowledges and archaeology's role in the resources sector.

Goal

The goal is to change how knowledge is built and shared in the resources sector. It aims to redress the inequalities in how knowledge about the archaeological record is communicated and understood by decision-makers. This approach will create more socially aware mining industry leaders who can better engage with social science and Indigenous knowledge whilst mining responsibly. This research will also address the historical under representation of Traditional Owners in the cultural heritage industry by creating accreditation pathways via Flinders University.

Best practice frameworks

In most instances, these historical data remains inaccessible to Traditional Owners, or to the general state of knowledge about regional archaeology, and the repatriation of artefacts, especially in the mine closure phase, is poorly managed and understood.

Goal

The goal is to establish leading, best practice CHM frameworks for archaeology in the resources sector that are rigorously tested and adaptable to different settings (environmental, cultural etc).

It will tackle questions and challenges identified by industry partners that span the entirety of archaeological survey practice. This includes legacy data and artefact collections, the inclusion of Traditional Owners and their knowledge in survey work, and present-day management concerns for protected cultural heritage sites.

The research aims to shift the mining industry's cultural heritage approach from a destruction logic to one centred on protection and management.

Technological adaptation and implementation

Problem

Archaeological surveys in mining contexts continues to rely heavily on pedestrian surveys, where archaeologists walk across a proponent's project footprint to identify any visible surface archaeological material.

However, when a site goes undetected (typically because it is subsurface), it can result in major and costly setbacks (project delays, increased costs, essential negotiations with Traditional Owners).

Advanced technologies (e.g., drones, sub-surface imaging, machine-learning, geochemical analysis) offer significant potential to improve survey accuracy, efficiency and reliability. However, their uptake in mining settings has been limited due to a scarcity of skilled practitioners.

Goal

The goal is to develop better survey methodologies and tools to deliver improved archaeological survey assessments. This involves 1) carrying out baseline studies with Partner Organisations to generate data into existing archaeological survey efficiency, and 2) trialling and deploying cutting-edge technology and analytical methods to evaluate their effectiveness in different mining settings.