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Alcoa misleads investors on crucial Australian mining approvals
Chief executive Bill Oplinger told Wall Street the miner had responded to all 60,000 comments on its WA expansion plans—in fact, it responded to fewer than 10, and some were unacceptable.
WHY ALCOA'S WA MINING APPROVALS MATTER · Alcoa needs WA · More than 70% of its bauxite and alumina come from WA · Its share price plunged the last time investors were concerned about approvals. · Alcoa's mining is a threat to Perth's water supply · It has failed to complete the rehabilitation of a single hectare of jarrah forest after sixty years of strip mining.
Alcoa chief executive Bill Oplinger incorrectly told investors the miner has completed its work on vital mining approvals, and that progress now depends on the WA Environmental Protection Authority (EPA).
"We received close to 60,000 comments. We've responded to all of those comments," Oplinger told Wall Street analysts in January.
"The next major milestone in the process is that we should have a recommendation from the EPA at the end of the first half and then have ministerial approvals by the end of the year."
The real situation is that Alcoa has responded to less than ten submissions; some were not to a standard acceptable to the EPA, and there was no basis to expect an EPA recommendation by mid-2026.
Oplinger's wish to be upbeat about Alcoa extending its six decades of access to WA's jarrah forest, where it mines more than 70 per cent of its bauxite, is understandable.
He told investors in 2025 that obtaining its WA mining approvals was the "number one" lever to boost profits for the global aluminium specialist.
Bill Oplinger has led Alcoa since September 2023. Image: Alcoa
In mid-2023, his predecessor, Roy Harvey, told a quarterly results call there was “no fixed timetable” for resolving approvals in WA.
Alcoa's share price plunged 6.5 per cent in the first 10 minutes of trading and closed the day down 7.4 per cent, wiping $650 million off the value of the company.
The Alcoa board axed Harvey and installed Oplinger before the next quarterly call.
Approval ball still in Alcoa's court
Environmental Protection Authority chair Darren Walsh said the responses received from Alcoa in January were only to submissions from "decision-making authorities" and the EPA had requested further information for some of them.
Decision-making authorities are WA government departments. Boiling Cold understands Alcoa has also responded to the submission of state-owned utility Water Corporation, that has significant concerns about Alcoa's mining near its dams.
Walsh told Boiling Cold that there was no agreed timetable for the environment watchdog to make its recommendation to Environment Minister Matthew Swinbourn.
"The EPA will not commit to an assessment timeframe until Alcoa submits its outstanding responses," Walsh said.
"When these have been accepted as adequate by the EPA they will be published," he said.
Many were proformas, but more than 10 per cent were not, so the US company has about 6,000 different submissions to review and respond to.
An Alcoa spokeswoman said in agreement with the EPA that it had prioritised responding to government regulators and was targeting to submit all responses by the end of March.
If Alcoa achieves that target, it still has a long road to gaining approvals.
The EPA has to review the responses, most likely resulting in more questions to Alcoa.
Once the EPA deems the responses to be acceptable and publishes them, it can complete its assessment, which is likely to be the most complex it has ever undertaken.
There will then be a three-week appeal period and a lengthy assessment by the Appeals Convenor before WA's environment minister can make a decision.
In addition, there is a parallel Federal environmental approvals process.
Read Boiling Cold's exclusive investigation of Roger Cook's work for Alcoa
Alcoa was asked on what basis it expected an EPA recommendation by mid-year. Its spokesperson said it was working collaboratively with stakeholders to achieve ministerial decisions by the end of 2026 and would continue to be responsive to requests for information from the EPA.
Boiling Cold also asked if the company would correct its misinformation to the market.
Alcoa pointed to its press release accompanying its quarterly results, which was correct about its actual progress: “In January 2026… the Company submitted to the WA Environmental Protection Authority responses to comments received from government entities."
The departments of Water and Environmental Regulation, Mines, Biodiversity and Conservation, and Health all made submissions to the EPA, according to Boiling Cold’s freedom of information requests.
The Mines Department was scathing about Alcoa's claims to be caring for the northern jarrah forest. Other departments denied FOI access as the documents were part of an ongoing deliberative process.
Boiling Cold's unrivalled reporting on Alcoa is free for all to read, maximising impact and accountability.
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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.
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Peter Milne
Peter Milne
