Alcoa’s WA mining plan draws unprecedented opposition

By Jamie Wiggan, Public Source

This story was originally published by PublicSource, a nonprofit newsroom serving the Pittsburgh region where Alcoa has its headquarters. For more of its journalism, visit www.publicsource.org.

A public review of Alcoa’s plans to mine deeper into Australia’s endangered Northern Jarrah Forest garnered 59,000 submissions from citizens, advocacy groups and local governments concerned about its impacts.  

The Pittsburgh-based aluminium giant has been active in Western Australia for more than 60 years, and now wants to clear an additional 150 square miles of forest to reach the aluminium ore, known as bauxite, that lies beneath it. 

Those plans, central to the company’s strategy, are under review by the state’s Environmental Protection Authority (EPA). A 12-week public comment window preceding the review concluded last week, and a final determination is expected sometime next year. 

“This is (the) largest number of submissions the EPA has ever received and clearly indicates a high level of public interest,” EPA chair Darren Walsh said in a statement.

Right as the review period concluded, Alcoa chief executive William Oplinger flew from Pittsburgh to Perth to meet with stakeholders including WA Premier Roger Cook.

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In a statement to Pittsburgh’s Public Source, the company downplayed the significance of the timing.

Oplinger "is currently in Australia as part of his regular program of visiting the regions where Alcoa operates around the world,” wrote Courtney Boone, vice president of global communications. “These visits can include time at our operations, meeting with employees and engaging with a range of stakeholders including government representatives.” 

During Cook's meeting with Oplinger, “the Premier reiterated there is an expectation that Alcoa meets its environmental obligations,” according to a government spokesperson. 

Boone also noted that approximately 90 per cent of the 59,000 submissions were from multiple signatories attached to the same letter.

“We welcome this participation as public consultation and comment is an important part of the process,” the statement continued. “Stakeholder engagement has, and will continue to be, a fundamental part of Alcoa’s core operating principles.”

Shires, First Nations opposed

Alcoa, with a market value above $US8 billion, has gradually centred its global operations in Western Australia, where it mines bauxite and refines it into alumina – a white, powdery oxide that can be smelted into aluminium. The bauxite is extracted from the ground below the unique Northern Jarrah Forest, which experts say is on the brink of collapse from forestry, mining and climate change.

The forest, anchored by centuries-old jarrah trees, supports thousands of unique plant and animal species, including three types of cockatoo, which are either endangered or close to extinction. In the towns, away from the forest, the refining process generates harmful airborne emissions and mountains of toxic waste that locals fear will far outlive the company’s time there. 

These concerns have prompted mounting criticism from environmental advocates, government regulators and the Noongar – a First Nations population who have inhabited the area for nearly 50,000 years. 

Among those who filed objections to the EPA are seven of the eight local government bodies that fall within the company’s Western Australia footprint. 

The Shire of Murray, which encompasses Alcoa’s largest refinery, filed a 370-page document outlining concerns, including:

• Clearing of native vegetation 
• Disturbance and removal of fauna and fauna habitat 
• Disturbance to the quality of land and soils 
• Disturbance to local and regional hydrology
• Air and greenhouse gas emissions  
• Disturbance to areas of cultural heritage significance 
• Detrimental noise, dust and visual impact. 

“Our role is to represent the community, advocate for environmental responsibility, and ensure that due process is followed,” a spokesperson for the shire said in an email statement. 

Voices from the First Nations Noongar community also weighed in on the application.

The Bibbul Ngarma Aboriginal Association wrote in an online statement that Alcoa's plan could "have devastating and irreversible impacts", including "risks to our drinking water and the loss of social and recreational values that will affect future generations long after we are gone."

Alcoa ads flagged by ethics agency

One concern voiced in the debate over Alcoa’s application: The company’s track record on restoring mined areas of the forest.

Shortly after Public Source published a three-part investigation of Alcoa’s impact in Western Australia, the company posted a paid advertisement in an Australian newspaper, headlined, “Is Jarrah Forest rehabilitation possible? We’re here with the facts.”

Among other things, the discontinued ad claimed Alcoa had rehabilitated 75% of the forest uprooted for bauxite mining. Alcoa’s rehabilitation program is disputed by many prominent scientists, including a world-renowned botanist who began his career trying to help the company rehabilitate. 

The claims in the paid newspaper article were reported to Ad Standards, an independent watchdog for the Australian ad industry, which released a report Monday, finding it in breach of four of the five sections of the organisation’s environmental code.

"The panel considered that the overall impression created by the advertisement was inaccurate and likely to mislead or deceive target consumers," the report concluded.

In its response to the complaint, Alcoa maintained it intended a broader definition of "rehabilitation," and as such, the ad "is not misleading or deceptive and does not overstate the benefit of rehabilitation to the environment."

Shielded status ‘unraveling’?

Alcoa launched in Australia through a government deal that until recently shielded it from key environmental regulations. The pending applications are the first the company has had to submit to the independent EPA process, largely in response to mounting public scrutiny.

The two applications under EPA review seek permissions to mine more forest and increase the capacity of Alcoa’s Pinjarra refinery. 

The state government, which has tended to show leniency toward Alcoa and other mining interests, will have the final say on how to implement the EPA’s recommendations.

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A spokesperson said the government “remains committed to transitioning Alcoa to a modern approvals framework under the Environmental Protection Act and has implemented strict controls on the company’s mining operations during this transition.” 

Brad Pettit, one of four Green Party members in the state parliament, said the local government opposition submissions make “a powerful statement, but not binding as the state government will be the decision maker. But we are seeing an extraordinary unravelling of Alcoa’s social licence at a key time.”

Boone said Alcoa “regularly respond(s) to interest and feedback from stakeholders,” citing as an example the introduction of mining avoidance zones around the towns of Jarrahdale and Dwellingup, which she said demonstrate “how community feedback can contribute to operations co-existing with important social values and public amenity. 

“Alcoa respects that we operate in areas of high value to the community, and we are committed to undertaking a comprehensive review of the feedback and responding in a thorough and timely manner.”

Walsh said reports containing “assessments and recommendations” will be published during “the first half of 2026,” at which point a three-week window will open for appeals. 

Jamie Wiggan is deputy editor at PublicSource. He can be reached at jamie@publicsource.org.

This story was fact-checked by Rich Lord.

This article first appeared on Pittsburgh's Public Source and is republished here under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.