Full story from The Australian Online .

ABORIGINES have won a 13-year battle in the Federal Court for native title rights over a massive swathe of Cape York Peninsula that includes Rio Tinto's giant bauxite mine in Weipa.

The court ruled yesterday that the Wik and Wik Way people have traditional rights -- to camp, hunt, gather, fish, protect sacred sites, conduct traditional ceremonies and "erect shelters and other structures" -- over 1150sqkm of their traditional land and waters on the west coast of Cape York Peninsula.

Rio must pay compensation to the Wik and Wik Way people in return for the right to lay gas pipelines to service its Weipa mine.

The court order was made in Aurukun yesterday with the consent of all parties -- the indigenous applicants, the Queensland government, Rio, the Cook and Aurukun shire councils, the Ports Corporation of Queensland, Weipa Houseboats and a number of commercial fishing outfits.

But the fine print reveals tight controls on what the Wik and Wik Way peoples may do on the Rio mining leases. Under the deal, they have no rights to minerals or oil deposits. Nor will they be allowed to use guns or light campfires, "other than for safety or in an emergency".

And Rio will have the right to exclude them from areas it requires to carry out its activities, or "for operational, safety or security reasons or as required by law". "The native title rights and interests will continue to exist in their entirety but will have no effect in relation to the exercise of rights under the Comalco (now renamed Rio Tinto) or the performance of the Comalco activities," the court order states.

The deal also says the Aboriginal groups will support Rio's right to expand its Weipa operations. But Rio will have to pay compensation to the Wik and Wik Way peoples in order to lay pipes for the supply of gas to the Weipa mine.

Rio must also consult the traditional landowners before building any new roads, airports, bridges or other transport infrastructure on its Weipa mining lease.

In handing down his decision, judge Andrew Greenwood said anthropological records showed that the Wik and Wik Way peoples had "maintained a connection" with the lands occupied by their ancestors by observing traditional laws, customs and belief.

Traditional owner Gina Castelain hailed the court decision yesterday as "a long time coming". "It's a day for celebration, but it's also a sad day for many of us, remembering the people who worked hard for our native title rights," she said.

A Rio Tinto spokeswoman said the company welcomed the deal -- the first native title consent decision over a mining lease in Queensland.