Alcoa (NYSE:AA) will face tighter restrictions on bauxite mining in Western Australia’s Northern Jarrah Forest, including wider exclusion zones around water reservoirs and significant trees.
The WA Government has introduced a new Exemption Order and plans to approve Alcoa’s 2025–2029 Mining and Management Program with additional environmental conditions.
Mining will be prohibited within 2km of water reservoirs, compared with the previous 1km buffer.
Exclusion zones around black cockatoo nesting trees and other significant trees at the Huntly mine will increase from 10–50m.
Alcoa will also be required to undertake fauna surveys, record tree locations using GPS, tag and fence protected areas, resubmit compliance plans every six months, and reduce its exploration drilling footprint.
The temporary arrangements allow mining to continue while the Environmental Protection Authority assesses Alcoa’s bauxite proposals and the WA Government modernises the company’s regulatory framework.
Environment Minister Matthew Swinbourn says the conditions are intended to strengthen protections for water supplies and black cockatoo habitat.
“The new conditions will deliver enhanced protections for public drinking water sources, black cockatoo habitat and other environmentally significant values,” Swinbourn says.
Alcoa commits to new conditions
Alcoa welcomed the decision and says it will comply with the new requirements. The company employs approximately 4,000 people in WA.
There is no evidence Alcoa’s operations have affected Perth’s drinking water, according to ABC.
The restrictions come as Alcoa advances a gallium production facility at its Wagerup alumina refinery. The development was among the projects highlighted ahead of a parliamentary hearing examining social licence, environmental safeguards, and economic outcomes across Australia’s critical minerals sector, as reported by Mining.com.au.
The plant will recover gallium from existing bauxite processing streams and occupy approximately 3 hectares of previously cleared land.
The measures follow a February agreement under which Alcoa committed $55 million to address historical clearing of protected-species habitat in the Northern Jarrah Forest.
The Australian Government also granted an 18-month exemption allowing limited clearing while a strategic environmental assessment of the Huntly and Willowdale mines is completed.
Alcoa is a US-listed aluminium producer operating bauxite mines and alumina refineries in Western Australia.
Write to France Pinzon at Mining.com.au
Main image: Alcoa
