Rio Tinto: Indigenous Australian scores board seat after sacred cave blasts

Ben Wyatt, a former treasurer and Aboriginal affairs minister in Western Australia, will join the boards of two of the country’s top mining and energy firms, as the industries face increasing scrutiny over their relations with Indigenous communities.

The 47-year-old ex-lawmaker will become a non-executive director at Rio Tinto Group, the world’s second-biggest miner, from September. The role adds to his appointment on Wednesday to the board of oil and gas producer Woodside Petroleum Ltd.

Companies in the resources sector are under pressure from investors, lawmakers and local communities over heritage issues following Rio’s destruction of rock shelters at Juukan Gorge in