Equinox Resources (ASX:EQN) has seen its shares drop 40% on Monday after the Western Australian government canned an infill drill run over Native Title concerns.
Those concerns – which Equinox firmly stated it challenges, to the point where this masthead’s journalist wouldn’t be surprised to see a hotly watched lawsuit come out of this – relate to an ancestral water serpent believed to have formed a waterway that runs through Equinox’s permit.
The case – Equinox has made it clear there will be a case – has hallmarks that may be familiar to those who can remember back into the ancient history of January 2024.
That was when a judge became satisfied one UWA geoscientist had lied to Tiwi Islanders over the resting place of Crocodile Man – a kind of local spirit – in a bid to impede Santos (ASX:STO) from building a pipeline.
It also follows the Federal Environment Minister’s September move to tell Regis Resources (ASX:RRL) it couldn’t build the gold mine it was keen for, given Indigenous cultural heritage assets.
Where you stand on these decisions depends on your take at the strange intersection of identity politics and resources exploration. While some online commentary was derisive of the decision, others have noted it’s generally considered best practice not to go destroying cultural sites, which is fair.
After all, it hasn’t been that long since Rio Tinto blew up an ancient cave and in the fallout of that move the former CEO blew up that part of his career.
Anyway, back to Equinox.
The heritage survey that declared the ancestral water serpent a cultural asset on Equinox’s land was written by a subsidiary of the Wintawari Guruma Aboriginal Corporation (WGAC), which Equinox characterised on Monday as being proof of conflict of interest.
“Equinox Resources contends that WGAC’s 2023 heritage surveys were methodologically flawed and lacked independence due to being conducted by a WGAC subsidiary,” the company wrote.
“The Company also asserts that the 2023 survey contradicts prior independent surveys, which did not identify these two new ethnographic sites, provides insufficient supporting cultural evidence, and relies on inaccurate mapping for the newly identified ethnographic sites.
“Equinox Resources challenges the validity and significance of these sites, as well as the Minister’s decision to decline consent,” the company added.
The company is, above all else, taking umbrage with the fact the water serpent has been newly identified and not yet registered as a cultural asset.
A second area of the company’s overall landholding was also canned for drilling on the grounds it is “associated with stories and songs,” and Equinox reported it was only registered on September 20.
In between the lines, it’s clear Equinox believes the water serpent to be a fabrication synthesised to impede development works across its landholding.
Whether or not that is true is hard to say.
A palpable disinterest in Aboriginal mythology – both current and historical – at the broad societal level has led to a world where researching such matters is difficult, and where oral historians are required.
What isn’t hard to say is this lawsuit will be closely watched by those in favour, and opposed, to the WA government’s decision.
EQN last traded at 13cps.
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