Australia’s economy benefits significantly from the extraction of its vast mineral resources. However, this industrial activity can have a negative impact on 65,000 years of irreplaceable Indigenous cultural heritage.

While progress has been made, there is still a need for more robust and meaningful frameworks and standards within the mining industry and among cultural heritage practitioners to ensure this heritage is respectfully protected and preserved.

The ARC Training Centre for Archaeology in the Resources Sector, based at Flinders University in collaboration with The University of Queensland and Southern Cross University, aims to meet this challenge by transforming cultural heritage management in the resources sector, ensuring resource development with cultural responsibility at its core.

The Australian government has committed $5 million from the Australian Research Council's Industrial Transformation Research Program to bring together Traditional Owners, resources companies, archaeologists and cultural and heritage experts, as well as the peak body for mining professionals, AusIMM.