The clock is now ticking, with US aluminium giant Alcoa on the hook to provide key information to environmental authorities on time or risk facing much stricter conditions on its bauxite mining operations within Western Australia’s Jarrah forests, according to the WA Environmental Protection Authority.
It comes as the independent watchdog is now assessing Alcoa’s planned mining operations (up to 2027) behind closed doors, following a referral from the environmental group WA Forest Alliance.
Normally, it is illegal for an activity to continue while being assessed by the EPA. However, the Cook government has granted Alcoa an exemption to safeguard continued production and the jobs of the US miner’s 3000-odd WA employees.
It comes as the Fairfax-controlled WA Today revealed that the Cook government went against the advice of the Water Corporation, which warned of “irreversible damage” to the forest and “certain” contamination of the water supply.
In addition, WA Today reports that the Department of Water and Environmental Regulation also opposed Alcoa’s mining plans “in its entirety” because they lacked “clarity and coherence.” Before adding, “there is likely a high level of risk to public drinking water sources and native flora and fauna.”
Today, the EPA released the first details of its assessment, including a timeline showing Alcoa delivering the information it needs by December to support a final decision by August 2025.
Is strip mining of jarrah forests favoured over sustainable forest management?
Last year , Wood Central reported on claims that Alcoa had failed to fully rehabilitate almost 28,000 hectares of forests.
Jess Beckerling, director of the WA Forest Alliance, said a WA department finding that no rehabilitation had been completed was a shocking indictment of Alcoa’s attitude to the forest.
“The community is getting wise to this sort of cynical greenwashing, and Alcoa’s reputation and social licence to operate have taken a serious hit,” Ms Beckerling told WAToday.
Conflicting definitions of rehabilitation by Alcoa and the government muddy the discrepancy between Alcoa’s claims and what it has achieved.
“The rehabilitation results have been woeful,” says Gavin Butcher, industry analyst and a WA Forest Products Commission director for more than 20 years.
“The species diversity is very weak, and as such, the understorey is made up of only a couple of species when the previous forest had been enormously rich,” Mr Butcher said.
Gavin Butcher regularly contributed to the publication and recently covered the WA Logging Ban for Wood Central.
“It is true that Alcoa has achieved the inputs to affect rehabilitation, but alas, none of the outcomes are satisfactory,” he said. “It is quite clear from science published that maintaining the industry at its current level is not a threat and could be beneficial in thinning the forests.”
“The current approach where the only timber provided will be sourced from mine clearing demonstrates the perversity of the government’s approach.”
- To learn more about the Bauxite mining in Western Australian forests, visit Wood Central’s special feature.