Alcoa has agreed to pay AU$55 million through enforceable undertakings for clearing Western Australia’s northern jarrah forest without approvals to enable bauxite mining.
The US aluminium miner agreed to the fine and to a strategic assessment agreement with the Australian federal government to guide sustainable mining at its Huntly and Willowdale mining operations until 2045.
Alcoa cleared the forest between 2019 and 2025 without seeking approvals under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999. The land cleared was a known habitat for nationally protected species.
The enforceable undertaking will deliver permanent ecological offsets to preserve important habitat, expand conservation programs for species including Western Australia’s three black cockatoos, and strengthen invasive species management within the northern jarrah forest.
Federal Environment Minister Murray Watt said the fine is “the largest conservation‑focused commitment of its kind”.
“This agreement will enable government to assess the cumulative environmental impacts of Alcoa’s local mining operations and provide strong protections for threatened species and ecological communities, while offering Alcoa long-term operational certainty,” Watt said.
The government granted an exemption to Alcoa for limited land clearing to continue its mining operations to ensure the continued supply of bauxite and supports future gallium production.
In addition, Alcoa committed a further AU$4.2 million in offsets for activities covered by the exemptions, ensuring environmental impacts are responsibly managed and compensated.
Alcoa maintains that it has operated in accordance with the EPBC Act but agreed to pay the fine and will limit clearing to 800 hectares per year, increase annual rates of new rehabilitation to 1,000 hectares per year by 2027 and will deliver environmental offsets according to EPBC Act requirements.
Alcoa CEO William Opling said: “We are committed to responsible operations and welcome this important step in transitioning our approvals to a contemporary assessment process that provides increased certainty for our operations and our people into the future.”
The miner said the assessment does not impact the ongoing environmental assessment of the future Myara North and Holyoake mine regions of the Huntly mine in Western Australia.
Alcoa hopes to reach a decision by the end of 2026 and anticipates that mining in these new major mine regions will commence no earlier than 2029.