Alcoa's mining of WA's jarrah forest has not complied with numerous conditions to protect endangered cockatoos, Perth's water supply and Aboriginal heritage, according to an independent report revealed by Boiling Cold.
The US miner has kept the completed report under wraps for two months while the public has been commenting on its current mining and a planned expansion that are both under assessment by the WA Environmental Protection Authority (EPA).
In late 2023, the WA Government gave special permission for Alcoa to continue strip mining the forest for bauxite while WA's environmental watchdog assessed the environmental impact.
The go-ahead was conditional on the US miner meeting a long list of conditions that would be assessed by an independent company whose monthly and annual reports would be published.
Alcoa fails to meet government conditions
In the past 12 months, Alcoa has drilled six exploration holes within 10m of a Black Cockatoo nesting tree, where, under the 2023 conditions, it is prohibited from undertaking any activity at all.
Ramboll, the company that produced the independent compliance report, found the trees had not been damaged, but Alcoa was non-compliant with a condition of its continued mining.
The $12 billion company also failed to lodge on time three vital documents to govern its day-to-day mining activities: how it would assess the risk to Perth's water supply from its mining, build drainage works to stop runoff from its mines from contaminating dams; and rehabilitate the forest after mining was completed.
The finalised documents were due in December 2024, but Alcoa only submitted draft documents to the state development minister, Premier Roger Cook, on 29 May - five months late.
In February, Alcoa had requested to extend its deadline to 31 May but received no response from the Premier.
Two other essential reports on how Alcoa would manage its operations in the longer term are also in limbo.
The WA Government's Independent Technical Advisory Group (ITAG) rejected Alcoa's methodology for assessing cumulative risks from mining in water catchments in November 2024, as it did not meet the requirements of Water Corporation, which operates the dams.
Alcoa submitted significantly revised work to ITAG in early December and again in March, missing the December 31 deadline for having agreed methodologies for full mining cycle planning and cumulative catchment scale risk assessment.
According to the compliance report, almost six months after the deadline, the government and Alcoa have not agreed on appropriate methodologies for the two studies.
An Alcoa spokesman said the company continued to work collaboratively with ITAG to deliver the two documents.
Boiling Cold: always keeping an eye on Alcoa for you.
Ramboll also found Alcoa was non-compliant for not completing on time a plan to protect Aboriginal cultural heritage.
The Alcoa spokesman said the report, which covers the 12 months to 31 May 2025, identified six non-compliances, including four that were administrative in nature, such as submission deadlines.
He said Alcoa has reported the drilling near the Cockatoo nesting trees itself, no harm was caused, and operational practices and monitoring have since been improved.
A convenient delay?
Alcoa is required to publish the independent report that it accepted two months ago, but on Tuesday, its website only linked to the older 2024 report.
Alcoa website on the afternoon 19 August only displaying the old 2024 report just before this story was published. Alcoa updated its website that evening.
The current report, located by Boiling Cold, was uploaded to Alcoa's website file storage, but there were no links to it from web pages the public could access.
The December 2023 conditions it mines under require the report to be made public within sixty days of being provided to the State Development Minister. The conditions do not prohibit an earlier release.
When a senior Alcoa executive signed the report off on June 20, it was the third of 12 weeks for the public to comment on its current mining and planned expansion, which are both under assessment by the EPA.
The Alcoa spokesman said it had not withheld the document, and it was published on the evening of 19 August in line with the required reporting timeframe.
I worked in oil & gas in commercial and engineering roles for 20 years. Since 2016, I have written for The West Australian, WAtoday, The Guardian and Boiling Cold, winning five WA Media Awards.
Bill Oplinger reassured investors that a 15-month delay would not affect operating rates at its Pinjarra alumina refinery but misled them about Alcoa's record of rehabilitating the jarrah forest.
Peter Milne
