"Examining Alcoa's proposed bauxite mining expansion in WA's jarrah forests", 30 May 2025

US aluminium giant Alcoa is proposing to expand its mining operations in the world's only jarrah forests in Western Australia...

Alcoa has made two proposals to expand its mining operations, some of which are near the Serpentine Dam, which is one of Perth's primary water sources...

The WA government has previously approved the company's mining plans despite internal advice stating they posed a high risk to Perth's drinking water and endangered species...

Alcoa's director of regulatory approvals, Kane Moyle, said the company was managing any potential risks to both conservation and drinking water supplies...

The company said it had strict measures in place...

He said the company had ceased all current mining operations within one kilometre of the dam, but was still operating within the one-to-two kilometre zone...

The Huntly and Willowdale mine proposals which the WA Department of Water and Environmental Regulation deemed would pose a "high level of risk to public drinking water sources and native flora and fauna".

The state-owned Water Corporation — responsible for managing Perth's water supply — said in the event of the Serpentine Dam being contaminated, more than 100,000 people could consume contaminated water after six hours...

Conservation Council WA (CCWA) has also raised concerns about the impact of Alcoa's operations on the environment, which it said was "the largest forest clearing plan ever before the EPA"...

"Alcoa's proposal to clear a further 7,500 hectares of forest in Perth's water catchment zone will be environmentally devastating," CCWA nature program manager Rhiannon Hardwick said....

"The bauxite that we mine, it is refined in our refineries here in Western Australia, generating many thousands of downstream jobs," Mr Moyle said.