Puutu Kunti Kurrama and Pinikura (PKKP) Traditional Owners will own new mining equipment, including haul trucks and electric excavators, and lease it to Fortescue under agreements approved by the PKKP community this week.

The fleet hire arrangement sits at the centre of a new Native Title Agreement and Co-Management Agreement which replaces the original Land Access Agreement PKKP signed with the iron ore miner in 2010. The PKKP community voted in favour of the changes at a Native Title authorisation meeting in Karratha.

The equipment will support Fortescue's Pilbara operations and create a long-term revenue stream for the PKKP Aboriginal Corporation, expanding its commercial activities and giving the group a direct stake in the economics of mining on its Country.

The agreements mark the second time in two years the PKKP have secured co-management arrangements with a major Pilbara iron ore miner. The group are the Traditional Owners of Juukan Gorge, where Rio Tinto destroyed two 46,000-year-old rock shelters in May 2020, triggering a federal parliamentary inquiry, an exodus of Rio Tinto executives and a global reckoning over heritage protection in mining. PKKP signed a Co-Management Agreement with Rio Tinto last year, ahead of the fifth anniversary of the destruction.

PKKP Enterprises chairperson and a Pinikura Traditional Owner, Terry Drage, said the new agreements would create a lasting legacy.

"This is a landmark agreement that strengthens protections for our Country and heritage while creating long-term economic opportunities for our people," Mr Drage said.

"Through initiatives like the mining fleet arrangement, we are securing a stronger future for the next generations and taking an active, decision-making role in how mining is carried out on our country. Not as a silent partner, but as a true partner.

"We have always said we are not opposed to mining, but it has to be done in the right way with Traditional Owner decision-making front and centre.

"These agreements are going to create a lasting legacy for our people, and we are really proud that we have signed this with Fortescue so that we don't have to rely on the government or courts to protect our important places."

PKKP Aboriginal Corporation chairperson and Puutu Kunti Kurrama Elder, Sandra Hayes, said the negotiation took three years.

"We have updated our original Land Access Agreement that we signed with Fortescue in 2010, and we've replaced it with a new Native Title Agreement and Co-Management Agreement," Ms Hayes said.

"The Co-Management Agreement we've signed with Fortescue builds on the agreement we made with Rio Tinto last year and has a number of protections for our Country and our heritage.

"The negotiation with Fortescue took three years to make sure the agreements reflected a shared understanding, so we know what they need, and they know what we can and cannot accept."

The Co-Management Agreement commits both parties to work together through every stage of mining, from exploration through construction, operation and closure. It establishes co-management committees for specific mines and developments, early sharing of heritage information and mine plans, a clear decision-making process where Fortescue requires key approvals such as section 18 consents to disturb heritage, and active site protections including buffers, blast management and fencing.

"One of the key parts of the Co-Management Agreement is that Fortescue and PKKP need to share information much earlier about mining activities and heritage so we have the best chance of protecting important places, and so Fortescue can carry on with certainty," Mr Drage said.

The Native Title Agreement also covers tenure related to Fortescue's decarbonisation activities and a modernised mining benefits framework.

Fortescue chairman and founder, Dr Andrew Forrest AO, said the agreements showed what was possible when people came together with trust and respect.

"We have never seen native title agreements as simply a transaction. The custodians of that Country should have a genuine voice in what happens there and share in the opportunities it creates," Dr Forrest said.

"This agreement creates new opportunities for PKKP to build business capability. They can participate directly in the success of our operations as they strengthen their people. That is the kind of long-term economic participation that helps communities build their own future."

Fortescue has awarded more than A$5 billion in contracts and sub-contracts to 200 First Nations businesses since 2011.