The Federal Court in Australia has ruled in favour of traditional owners over miners following a five-year native title dispute in the Pilbara.
In 2007, the Ngarla people were granted a native title claim covering thousands of square kilometres of land and water in the East Pilbara.
But there was a dispute over whether a mining lease had completely extinguished native title rights.
The ABC reports the full Federal Court has now ruled the Ngarla people retain their native title rights on land when mining has ended.
The state government in Western Australia says it is assessing the wider implications of the decision.
