Dancing the triple bottom line: Mining Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander culture, community and the arts
Mining and its relationship with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders has a long and complex history. Aboriginal people have been mining, then trading ochre and flint since time immemorial. Both resources were a necessary element in art and religious practices, as well as in the creation of stone implements and artefacts for use in hunting and gathering to ceremony and ritual. The more superior the quality of the deposits, the more highly they were prized by trading tribes. Indeed, it is fair to say, Aboriginal people are the true originators of the Australian mining industry.
