Turquoise thief sentenced to jail in joint AAPA and DME prosecution

Today in the Northern Territory Local Court, Mrs Kimberley Smith was convicted and sentenced to four months imprisonment, suspended for 18 months from today, after pleading guilty to working on a sacred site.  This is the first time a person has been sentenced to imprisonment for a conviction under the Northern Territory Aboriginal Sacred Sites Act. 

Mrs Smith also pleaded guilty to two counts of breaching an exploration licence and was fined a total of $28,000.  She was also banned from entering the NT for 18 months.   

In joint proceedings, the Aboriginal Areas Protection Authority (AAPA) and the Department of Mining and Energy (DME) prosecuted Mr and Mrs Smith for breaches of the Northern Territory Aboriginal Sacred Sites Act 1989, and the Minerals Titles Act. 

In June and August 2022, Mrs Smith hired a 25-tonne excavator and arranged for a team to enter the historical Tosca mine site on Ammaroo Station and remove significant quantities of turquoise, without appropriate mining permits or an Authority Certificate.  Those illegal works resulted in substantial damage to the registered sacred site, Putyenge.  Mrs Smith then offered the turquoise for sale in Australia, the United States and China.

Mrs Smith was found guilty of a breach of section 34 of the Sacred Sites Act, and section 147 of the Minerals Titles Act.  The case against Mr Smith was withdrawn due to serious health issues.  

Chairman of the Aboriginal Areas Protection Authority, Mr Bobby Nunggumajbarr, said he welcomes today’s guilty plea.  

“The stolen turquoise was part of the story of that place.  They knew they were on a sacred site and brought in excavators and dug it up. 

“This is the first joint proceedings between the Authority and the Department of Mining and Energy, and I am very happy that today justice has been done.”