Alcoa ceo repeats misleading spin about its jarrah forest rehabilitation

Alcoa chief executive Bill Oplinger has reassured investors it could keep its Pinjarra alumina refinery running even if the WA government did not approve a major mine expansion until mid-2027.

As recently as a May update to its website Alcoa had been targeting to receive approval for its current mining and a massive expansion to the north of Serpentine Dam by March 2026.

Oplinger said the miner had contingency plans to maintain bauxite production levels for up to a 15-month delay to receiving approval, including digging deeper pits in areas where it is currently allowed to mine.

However, he told Wall Street analysts on Thursday morning that delays beyond that could impact throughput at its Pinjara alumina refinery.

"We'll work through that when we get there," he said.

The Pittsburgh-based chief executive said the earlier schedule was no longer feasible due to the complexity of progressing two mine approvals simultaneously, the volume of documentation the company released in May for public comment and the anticipated effort to review and respond to those comments.

These issues are not new, but Alcoa's acceptance of a more realistic approval timeline and admission that there would be no production impacts from a 15-month delay undermines the credibility of any future claims that so-called "green-tape" is killing jobs.

Oplinger said he expected the Environmental Protection Authority to publish a revised approval timeline sometime after public consultation closes on August 21.

Alcoa in WA: 60 years, 28,000 hectares of forest cleared, zero rehabilitation completed

The department of conservation says Alcoa has not met the rehabilitation completion criteria, but the miner claims it has rehabilitated 75 per cent of the forest it has cleared.

WAtodayPeter Milne

Rehabilitation spin continues

Oplinger said Alcoa was "supporting" the public consultation "through a comprehensive communication and engagement campaign".

"The focus of the campaign is to ensure that the public has access to accurate information and facts about our environmental performance in Australia, and understands our commitment to responsible mining in the northern jarrah forest," he said.

Oplinger then repeated one of Alcoa's key lines of misinformation that has featured in its recent saturation advertising in WA, saying "75 per cent of cleared forests has been rehabilitated."

However, after 60 years of mining that has destroyed more than 260 square kilometres of jarrah forest, not a single hectare has met the rehabilitation completion criteria agreed between Alcoa and the WA Government.

Alcoa's claim that 75 per cent of the forest is rehabilitated is not based on the agreed rehabilitation completion criteria or the public's perception of what a rehabilitated forest would look like.

A footnote in tiny font in the presentation accompanying the second-quarter results that cryptically added, "with per cent rehabilitated based upon stages of maturity and forest restoration", points to how Alcoa's public relations ruse works.

Alcoa can report a high percentage as it classifies an area as rehabilitated after “landscaping, overburden and topsoil return, contour ripping, fauna habitat return, and seeding” is completed, just the first 12 to 18 months of work towards a return to a forest ecosystem.

This clear definition, consistent with industry usage but unknown to the public, never accompanies the 75 per cent claim.

Alcoa is counting the area where it has just started to return a forest, and knowingly allowing the public to believe the job is done.

Oplinger said Alcoa was committed to working collaboratively to achieve ministerial approval as soon as possible.

"We will continue to engage with stakeholders to fulfil our responsibilities as a trusted miner and to sustain our right to mine for decades to come," he said.

Read the in-depth investigation of Alcoa in WA by PublicSource of Pittsburgh, the miner's headquarters:

How Alcoa is undermining a rare forest to fuel its empire

Two journalists from Alcoa’s hometown flew to Perth to look at its mining of WA’s jarrah. A brilliant look at a slow-moving tragedy.

Boiling ColdJamie Wiggan

Will Alcoa refineries drive people from a third WA town?

Kwinana and Yarloop have suffered from Alcoa’s toxic dust - is Pinjarra next?

Boiling ColdQuinn Glabicki

Will WA revisit the deal that Alcoa depends on?

Destroyed forest. Threatened water supply. Toxic towns. Mountains of residue. Will the WA Government demand better?

Boiling ColdJamie Wiggan