The green light for Black Mountain Energy comes just months after Federal experts said its environmental risk assessment was "limited and disjointed" and reached "largely unsupported" conclusions.
If the US miner is found to have mined too close to a large jarrah tree, it would trigger an automatic cancellation of its right to mine much of its lease.
Alcoa chief executive Bill Oplinger will look to shore up state government support for his vital WA mining that is facing public scrutiny for the first time.
