Wintawari Guruma Aboriginal Corporation has raised concerns about a mining company engaging what it calls a "hand-picked" third party to conduct a heritage assessment on their Country.

WGAC – the registered Native Title Body Corporate for the Eastern Guruma native title determinations in and around Tom Price in eastern Pilbara, WA – and Muntulgura Guruma Traditional Owners sounded the alarm after Equinox Resources Ltd notified the ASX it has engaged the Judih Judih Aboriginal Corporation to conduct a heritage assessment of its Hamersley Iron Ore Project.

In a statement, Wintawari Guruma Aboriginal Corporation rejected the company's claim that the assessment is "independent", and said the Judih Judih Aboriginal Corporation "has been hand-picked by Equinox without any consultation with WGAC".

WGAC said that their Native Title Agreement with the company, entered into in 2014, "does not contemplate the engagement of heritage assessments by third parties without consultation with WGAC".

"Under the Native Title Agreement, Equinox is required to undertake Heritage Assessments of Muntulguru Guruma sites with WGAC , not any other persons or groups," the organisation said in a statement.

"WGAC and Muntulgura Guruma Traditional Owners undertook a heritage assessment at the request and agreement of Equinox in 2023. Equinox was not satisfied with the outcome of this assessment.

"WGAC's view is that Equinox is clearly 'opinion shopping' to find a heritage assessment that fits its project rather than following the advice from WGAC and the decision of State Government heritage regulator."

Wintawari Guruma Aboriginal Corporation noted that Equinox "appealed the Minister's section 18 decision to the Supreme Court, and the hearing is on 26 September 2025".

"More than 20,000 people have signed a petition urging the government to say no to the project," they said.

The project is in the foothills of and on the doorstep of Karijini National Park, in a pristine environment.

The determination area for which Wintawari Guruma Aboriginal Corporation is the registered Native Title body corporate covers 6,500km square of land.

WGAC has 165 native title members and notes it has a legally binding agreement with Equinox.

"There is no process under the agreement for Equinox to engage individual WGAC members directly without WGAC's consent, in relation to heritage management," they said.

The group said Equinox did not engage with them in 2023 after two sites of cultural significance were reported to it as part of WGAC's heritage assessment process.

"These two sites were entered into the Register of Aboriginal Sites following a statutory assessment by the Aboriginal Cultural Heritage Committee in October 2024, the State Government body responsible for conducting heritage assessments," they said.

"Rather than Equinox engaging with WGAC about the preservation of these two important cultural sites, Equinox chose to apply for a consent to damage these two sites in 2024. The ACHC and the Minister for Aboriginal Affairs said no to Equinox damaging the sites in October 2024.

"(The company) then appealed different aspects of the decision to acknowledge the two sites to the Supreme Court and State Administrative Tribunal."

The Supreme Court is scheduled to hear the case on 26 September 2026. The SAT is not listed for a hearing as yet.

Wintawari Guruma Aboriginal Corporation said the Judih Judih Aboriginal Corporation, now engaged by Equinox, to reassess the importance of the two sites without the involvement of the other 164 WGAC members, is run by one Muntualgura Guruma native title holder.

"WGAC is shocked and appalled that this junior exploration company is sowing division amongst the Muntulgura Guruma community in an attempt to advance its project adjacent to Karijini National Park and Hamersley Gorge," the Corporation said.

"Not only does Equinox seem to be attacking the native title holders who are trying to preserve their cultural sites and an important natural environment, it is also showing a complete lack of regard for the ongoing judicial process that they themselves instigated," a spokesperson for the WGAC said.

"Rather than trying to constructively engage with WGAC, for the last two years Equinox has constantly ridden roughshod over the views of the Traditional Owners and has dismissed their legitimate concerns over protecting their heritage."

The WGAC spokesperson said Equinox "simply does not seem to care about our concerns and has hired expensive Perth lawyers to browbeat and frighten our Elders into submission rather than talking and trying to seek compromise".

"The Judih Judih Aboriginal Corporation that has just nine members drawn from neighbouring native title corporations and non-Aboriginal people. They do not represent the Munutalgura Guruma people and are not in any position to provide a so-called independent heritage assessment."

National Indigenous Times contacted Equinox Resources multiple times via email and left a telephone message at their office seeking comment.