People/miner

Wajarri Yamatji ochre miners of Wilgie Mia (group)

Wajarri Yamatji ochre miners of Wilgie Mia (group), miner, from Australia. Linked to ochre.

The lucky break

Initiated Wajarri Yamatji men worked the ochre at Wilgie Mia in the Weld Range with stone mauls and fire-hardened wooden wedges, using pole scaffolding so several levels could be mined at once.1

Legacy

The State Library of WA says Wilgie Mia is estimated to be 27,000 years old and is believed to be the oldest continually worked mine site in human history. Ochre from it was traded as far as Ravensthorpe, Queensland and the Nullarbor. The site remains sacred to Wajarri Yamatji people.1

Story cards

Timeline

  1. 24 May 2020 (the Guardian of 26 May says the blast was on Sunday)Juukan Gorge rock shelters destroyed2
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Where next

Events

An example ofJuukan Gorge rock shelters destroyedWilgie Mia ochre is about 27,000 years old. Juukan Gorge showed 46,000 years of habitation.1

Sources

  1. Ochre (Mining and Energy Western Australia exhibition) State Library of Western Australia
  2. Rio Tinto blasts 46,000-year-old Aboriginal site to expand iron ore mine (26 May 2020) The Guardian

From the Prospector Trails mining history dataset: each fact links to the source it was checked against. Figures are as the source gives them, in the money of their day. Not investment advice.

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Cover photos from Wikimedia Commons: Super Pit, Kalgoorlie by Kgbo, CC BY-SA 4.0.