Yindjibarndi Water will lead the acquisition of the 8-gigalitre-per-year Dampier Seawater Desalination Plant in the West Pilbara, after reaching agreements with Rio Tinto and the Western Australian Government that put a majority Indigenous-owned business at the centre of the region's water security.
Perth-based Affinity Capital Group has partnered with Yindjibarndi Water's nominee entity, Yindjibarndi WaterCo, to raise the capital for the purchase through its funds management arm, the Pilbara Water Fund.
The deal gives Yindjibarndi People a long-term economic stake in critical water infrastructure and a pathway to operating it. It also delivers a climate-independent water source designed to relieve pressure on the Millstream Aquifer, where decades of groundwater extraction for the West Pilbara Water Supply Scheme have damaged cultural sites and ecology.
Yindjibarndi Water chairperson Michael Woodley said the agreement was the result of a longstanding drive to protect water on Yindjibarndi Ngurra, or Country.
"As witnesses of the impacts of groundwater over-abstraction on cultural sites and the ecology at Millstream, Yindjibarndi Elders have always put water on the agenda of every discussion," he said.
The company was formed in 2021 as a majority Yindjibarndi-owned entity to find a solution to over-abstraction at Millstream. It commissioned independent scientific and cultural studies and presented them to the Department of Water and Environmental Regulation in 2024, leading to a partnership agreement with the State Government and the Water Corporation under which groundwater bores are being relocated away from culturally and environmentally sensitive areas.
Those studies also identified additional sustainable groundwater sources on Yindjibarndi Country which may help meet future demand.
"This agreement will strengthen water security in the West Pilbara; sustainably diversify water supplies for the Water Corporation and Rio Tinto; and deliver much-needed environmental relief while preserving Yindjibarndi cultural heritage at Millstream," Mr Woodley said.
"This is another step on the Yindjibarndi path to self-determination by delivering a secure, long-term economic return and, over time, enabling us to grow operational capability through employment, training and contracting arrangements."
Mr Woodley acknowledged the Western Australian Government and Rio Tinto as partners in the agreement, along with capability partners The Right Water Company and Affinity Capital Group.
Rio Tinto remains responsible for managing construction of the plant, which is expected to be fully operational in 2027. Water from the plant will supply the West Pilbara Water Supply Scheme, operated by the Water Corporation, which delivers drinking water to homes and businesses across Karratha, Wickham, Roebourne, Dampier and surrounding areas, as well as major industry, including Rio Tinto's operations.
Yindjibarndi Water is 60 per cent owned by the Yindjibarndi People through Yindjibarndi Wealth Pty Ltd, with The Right Water Company holding the remaining 40 per cent.
The acquisition builds on a run of major commercial milestones for the Yindjibarndi nation. In May, Yindjibarndi Energy Corporation, a partnership between Yindjibarndi Aboriginal Corporation and ACEN Corporation, achieved financial close on a 75-megawatt solar project in the West Pilbara and signed a 30-year power purchase agreement with Rio Tinto.
