"The South West global biodiversity hotspot, which includes the Northern Jarrah Forest, hosts over 8,000 species, with approximately 80% found nowhere else."
Alcoa, a US-based mining company, has been ordered to pay A$55 million for unapproved land clearing in Western Australia's Northern Jarrah Forest between 2019 and 2025. The company is also under investigation by Western Australia's environmental regulator for an alleged breach of its mining conditions. These events are occurring as federal and state governments review the company's proposal to extend its mining operations until 2045.
Penalty for Unapproved Clearing
The Australian government issued a A$55 million enforceable undertaking against Alcoa for clearing more than 2,000 hectares of native forest without required approvals under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation (EPBC) Act. The clearing occurred in known habitats for nationally protected species, including the endangered Carnaby's and Baudin's black cockatoos.
The funds are allocated to specific environmental and research initiatives:
- A$40 million for permanent ecological offsets.
- A$5 million for the Australian Wildlife Conservancy's conservation programs.
- A$6 million for state government projects controlling invasive species.
- A$4 million for the University of Western Australia to research invasive fauna control.
Federal Environment Minister Murray Watt described the penalty as "unprecedented." Alcoa stated it believes it operated in accordance with the EPBC Act but agreed to fund the specified measures.
Exemption and Ongoing Operations
Minister Watt granted Alcoa an 18-month exemption to continue limited land clearing while a strategic assessment of the company's proposed expansion is conducted. The assessment covers Alcoa's Huntly and Willowdale mining operations, located approximately 100 kilometers south of Perth, with a potential extension until 2045.
The exemption was issued under a national interest provision in Australian law. Minister Watt stated this ensures a continuous supply of bauxite and supports gallium production, materials used in renewable energy systems. He also noted it supports approximately 6,000 jobs. Alcoa has committed to limiting clearing to 800 hectares per year under the exemption and increasing annual rehabilitation rates to 1,000 hectares by 2027.
Alleged Mining Breach Under Investigation
The Department of Water and Environmental Regulation (DWER) is investigating an alleged breach of conditions attached to the mining exemption. A key condition mandates that mining cannot occur within 10 meters of mature significant trees, which serve as potential nesting habitats for endangered black cockatoos.
The investigation focuses on a single jarrah tree at Alcoa's Huntly Mine. Satellite imagery indicates surrounding forest was cleared between September 2019 and December 2023. By August 2025, the tree appeared leafless, and a rock wall connected to its undisturbed island appeared to have been dismantled.
WA Greens MLC Jess Beckerling, who brought the matter to DWER after receiving information from a public informant, stated she measured the distance from the tree's base to the northern edge of its island as approximately 9.1 meters. DWER confirmed the investigation is being treated as a priority.
Alcoa denied any wrongdoing. The company stated it applied a 10-meter buffer around the tree since its identification in pre-mining surveys in 2014 and that mining activities until March 2024 did not breach this buffer zone. Alcoa also stated the tree was not identified as a black cockatoo nesting tree.
Scientific Findings on Rehabilitation
Scientists from the University of Western Australia (UWA) have stated that bauxite mining in the Northern Jarrah Forest cannot restore the ecosystem to its pre-mining condition. UWA botanist Professor Kingsley Dixon cited the removal of multi-layered bauxite deposits, which structure the ground and aid water retention, as a central reason for rehabilitation failure.
A November 2024 paper in Restoration Ecology, co-authored by Dixon, found that rehabilitated mine sites from the past 35 years have not recovered to pre-mining condition. Professor Stephen Hopper, a botanist and conservation biologist at UWA, stated that the shrub layer beneath the jarrah canopy contains the majority of biodiversity and that rehabilitation has repeatedly failed to restore this understorey. He also noted that two-thirds of the bioregion's threatened plants and animals live in the uplands where the bauxite ore body is thickest.
Background and Context
Alcoa has been mining bauxite in Western Australia since the 1960s and has cleared approximately 28,000 hectares from the 1.8-million-hectare jarrah bioregion. The company's operations are governed by an agreement established in 1961, rather than standard environmental laws applied to most other projects. The state government announced plans in late 2023 to update these rules.
"The South West global biodiversity hotspot, which includes the Northern Jarrah Forest, hosts over 8,000 species, with approximately 80% found nowhere else."
Endangered species in the region include the Baudin's cockatoo, western quoll, and several rare orchid species.
In November 2023, the Leeuwin Group, comprising over 150 senior scientists, called on the WA and Federal Governments to halt all mining operations in the Northern Jarrah Forest, warning of a potential extinction catastrophe.
Responses to the Agreement
Western Australian Premier Roger Cook expressed disappointment with Alcoa's environmental performance and indicated the state government is collaborating with the company to modernize its environmental protection arrangements. He noted that while Alcoa's economic activity is significant, the company must uphold environmental standards.
Conservation groups, including the Conservation Council of Western Australia and the Biodiversity Council, criticized the exemption. The Conservation Council's Matt Roberts stated that strip-mined forests cannot be rehabilitated to their original state. The Biodiversity Council expressed concern that the national interest exemption set a "dangerous precedent."
Tania Constable, CEO of the Minerals Council of Australia, expressed encouragement, stating that the collaboration recognized the importance of Alcoa's operations and its strategic role in Australia's minerals industry.