Yardi Mining Services is positioning Aboriginal-led environmental rehabilitation as core business, not an add-on, as resource companies face growing scrutiny over how work on Country delivers a lasting benefit.
Operating across Robe River Kuruma Country in Western Australia’s Pilbara, Yardi is a majority Aboriginal-owned mining services company established as a joint venture between Robe River Services, owned by the Robe River Kuruma people, and CSI Mining Services, a wholly owned subsidiary of MinRes.
The company specialises in complex civil works and environmental rehabilitation, with cultural authority embedded into project design and delivery.
Chair Josie Alec said operating on Robe River Kuruma Country carried an obligation that went beyond compliance.
“Working on our Country comes with responsibility, not just to deliver the job, but to protect heritage, create opportunities for our people and make sure the benefits flow back into community,” she said.
Environmental rehabilitation has become a central pillar of Yardi’s work, with projects shaped by cultural and environmental assessments undertaken before activity begins.
Rehabilitation programs include erosion control, ecological restoration and revegetation using native species, informed by traditional ecological knowledge.
Alec said the aim was not simply to repair disturbance, but to leave Country in a condition future generations could be proud of.
Yardi’s operating model requires early and ongoing consultation with Elders, ensuring cultural knowledge informs planning and on-ground decision-making.
That approach, the company says, has strengthened trust with clients navigating increasingly complex heritage and environmental expectations.
Director of Yardi and chief executive of Mineral Resources’ mining services division, Mike Grey, said clients were looking for partners who could combine technical capability with cultural understanding.
“Mining is not just about extraction. It is about how you operate on Country and what you leave behind,” he said.
Alongside environmental outcomes, Yardi has embedded Aboriginal employment and training targets into its operations, creating pathways for local people into long-term careers in mining services and land management.
For Alec, the commercial growth of Aboriginal-owned enterprises like Yardi represents a continuation of cultural responsibility rather than a departure from it.
“Our ancestors fought to protect culture and Country,” she said.
“Now we have the chance to build strong businesses that do the same. That is what success looks like for us.”
As pressure grows on the resources sector to demonstrate genuine social and environmental value, Yardi’s model offers a glimpse of how Indigenous ownership, cultural authority and operational delivery can be aligned rather than traded off.
This article was originally published by Reece Harley in the February 2026 edition of the Indigenous Business Review.
Learn more about the ways MinRes is building strong relationships with Aboriginal communities and Traditional Owners.
