Green critics urge EPA to block South32’s Worsley bauxite and alumina project

The Environmental Protection Authority (EPA) has been urged to reject South32's plans to expand its Worsley bauxite and alumina project in Western Australia’s (WA) South West which would clear more than 4000 hectares of native vegetation.

The updated plan, which the EPA made available for public comment on June 20, highlighted mainly expanding Worsley's Boddington bauxite mine but also laid emphasis on the removal of land for brand-new transportation routes and storage and upkeep activities at the alumina refinery farther north.

“The Environmental Protection Authority must make a decision that is in step with the views of ordinary West Australians in rejecting this proposal – not just on conservation grounds, but to avert the considerable pollution and emissions that will result and hold WA back on climate action,” Conservation Council of WA executive director Maggie Wood said.

Approximately 4300ha would need to be cleared, mostly to access new ore in Worsley's mining development envelope of 27,800ha at Boddington. Environmentalists asserted that the expansion would result in the loss of habitat for endangered species, such as woylies, western ringtail possums, and black cockatoos. Although the extension would increase South32's impact in the South West, the company insists that it would also allow for better environmental control of the Worsley project.