Alcoa, Alumina win govt support for bauxite mines
Alcoa and Alumina’s WA bauxite mines have been under a cloud thanks to complaints about their impact on forests and drinking water, but new regulations should secure their continuation.
The major bauxite operations on Perth’s southern doorstep will continue into the future after WA’s state government announced a new regulatory regime.
The fate of Alcoa and Alumina’s bauxite mines had been under a cloud after complaints about their impact on jarrah forests and the risks posed to Perth’s drinking water caught the attention of Western Australia’s Environmental Protection Authority.
The bauxite operations are not regulated under the state’s mining act and environmental protection act, and were instead managed under a state agreement struck 60 years ago.
The EPA’s scrutiny of the operations had opened the risk of the mines being ordered to cease immediately, which the companies had warned could put up to 6000 jobs at risk.
In an announcement on Thursday, Premier Roger Cook said Alcoa’s operations had secured an exemption from an EPA-ordered shutdown in exchange for new “strict” controls.
Those restrictions include handing back 1200ha of forest previously approved for clearing, and exiting and rehabilitating “critical risk” areas. Alcoa has also been barred from mining within 1km of reservoirs, having previously mined as close as 300m from Perth’s key water supply, and will commit a $100m guarantee to fund the government’s response to any impact from the operations on Perth’s drinking water dams.
Mike Ferraro, the chief executive of Alumina, which holds a 40 per cent interest in the operations, said the new restrictions were a manageable burden.
“It’s been an overhang for us. There’s been a great deal of uncertainty, it’s had an impact on the company and its shareholders for over a year now, so we are delighted that the uncertainty is cleared and we’ve come up for air,” he told The Australian.
Alcoa vice-president operations for Australia, Matt Reed, said the decision meant Alcoa could continue to build on its operations while transitioning to more contemporary approvals.
“We are absolutely focused on operating in line with these new requirements and evolving community expectations,” he said.
Mr Cook said the new framework would support local jobs while strengthening environmental protections.
“Every project in WA should be subject to the same rigorous environmental approval system, but legacy issues mean Alcoa is yet to move to contemporary approvals,” Mr Cook said.
“Alcoa is a major employer and contributes significantly to our regional economies.”
Shares in Alumina rose 8.7 per cent on the back of the news to close at 87.5c on Thursday.
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