Rio Tinto chief executive to leave by March over mining company’s destruction of Australian Indigenous sacred sites

CANBERRA, Australia (AP) - Rio Tinto chief executive Jean-Sebastien Jacques will leave the Anglo-Australian mining giant over the destruction of Australian Indigenous sacred sites to access iron ore. The two rock shelters in Juukan George in Western Australia state had been inhabited for 46,000 years. The company said: “Significant stakeholders have expressed concerns about executive accountability for the failings identified.” Jacques will step down once a replacement has been appointed or on March 31, whichever happens sooner. Executives Chris Salisbury and Simone Niven will leave this year. The Western Australian government has promised to update Indigenous heritage laws that allowed Rio Tinto to legally destroy the sacred sites.