Problems again stall production from Santos' $6.8b Barossa LNG
Santos is battling blocked heat exchangers, failed subsea valves, and faulty safety doors 285km north of Darwin so it can reap the reward of high gas prices in Asia.
US company Alcoa mines bauxite in WA's south west, where it risks Perth's water supply and struggles to rehabilitate the jarrah forest. Two refineries produce alumina for export. NYSE:AA, ASX:AAI
Extraction of the critical mineral found in the waste from making alumina from bauxite could curb China's 98 per cent share of global production.
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.
WA's environmental watchdog will consider the risk to Perth's water supply and whether the US miner can rehabilitate the forest it strip-mines.
Destroyed forest. Threatened water supply. Toxic towns. Mountains of residue. Will the WA Government demand better?
Kwinana and Yarloop have suffered from Alcoa's toxic dust - is Pinjarra next?
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.
The battle of jobs and Alcoa profits versus the jarrah forest and Perth's water supply will ramp up within weeks when the miner's plans are released.
Costly, complex, and with old technology, the 60-year-old alumina refinery that had employed 800 workers is unlikely to reopen.
The US miner expects WA government approval within 12 months to destroy 75 square kilometres of jarrah forest to enable its "number one" lever to boost profits.
The 2022 incident is one of many at Alcoa's three refineries that are under an increased level of surveillance from the work safety regulator.
The $13 billion company will just get a warning letter for secretly creating "an unacceptable risk to drinking water quality."
Roger Cook granting Alcoa greater access to mine near Perth's dams risks could cost taxpayers billions of dollars and result in water restrictions
All the info and a bit of comment on WA energy, industry and climate every Friday