An ancient rock shelter near a Rio Tinto mine has been damaged.

Traditional owners of the sacred rock shelter in Western Australia's Pilbara region, belonging to the Muntulgura Guruma people, are grappling with the aftermath of damage caused by a recent incident.

The disruption was discovered near Rio Tinto's Nammuldi iron ore mine, approximately 60km from Tom Price, during the company's cultural heritage monitoring efforts.

Rio Tinto acknowledged the disturbance in a statement, revealing that it had identified a Pilbara scrub tree's fall and a one-square-metre rock detachment from the overhang of a rock shelter adjacent to the mine site. 

Subsequently, the company halted nearby blasting operations, located 150 metres away, and informed the traditional owners, the Muntulgura Guruma people, of the incident.

Aaron Rayner, the Chief Operating Officer of the Wintawari Guruma Aboriginal Corporation (WGAC), representing the Muntulgura Guruma people, expressed concern over the incident's full scope, describing any impact as unwelcome. 

He stated that WGAC would collaborate with Rio Tinto to assess the damage's extent and independently verify the report in the coming weeks.

Rayner, however, was unable to confirm whether the damage resulted from blasting activities or if the company had obtained prior approvals under existing state legislation.

This incident follows Rio Tinto's controversial destruction of 46,000-year-old rock shelters at Juukan Gorge under Western Australia's cultural heritage protection laws, which triggered widespread condemnation. 

The outcry led to a federal parliamentary inquiry into cultural heritage protection laws and prompted the government to update the state's Aboriginal cultural heritage protection legislation.

Although the government initially supported the updated laws following stakeholder consultations, they were scrapped after only five weeks due to strong criticism. 

The government is currently engaging with the community and stakeholders to modernise the 1972 legislation.

Rio Tinto says that initial drone assessments did not find structural damage to the rock shelter or impacts on cultural materials. 

The company offered an apology and pledged to work closely with the Muntulgura Guruma people to determine the appropriate next steps.