The mining giant has bowed to pressure from investors over the destruction of two Aboriginal sites in Australia.

There was uproar last year when the 46,000 year old do can gorge.

Rock shelters were destroyed in the course of mining operations.

Chief executive Jean Sebastian Jack eventually resigned over the affair, but campaigners were outraged by the board's handling of an investigation into the matter.

The probe found no single person accountable.

Now chair Simon Thompson and board director Michael Less Strange will both step down in the coming months.

Investors welcomed the move as a sign of accountability.

Rio Tinto last year chose Danish executive Yacoub's household as the firm's new chief executive.

Some Australian investors had pressed for a leader with strong experience of local indigenous issues.