US mining giant Alcoa has been forced to pay $55 million after unlawfully clearing parts of a Western Australian native forest to mine bauxite.

The federal government on Wednesday confirmed Alcoa did not seek relevant approvals when it cleared a known habitat for nationally protected species in the Northern Jarrah Forest, south of Perth, between 2019 and 2025.

The fine — described as “unprecedented” by the office of the Environment Minister Murray Watt — is part of a remediation deal the bauxite miner struck with the government to enable it to continue its operations.   

The money will go towards conservation initiatives such as strengthening invasive-species management and ecological offsets to preserve the remaining habitat in the area.

The company has mined bauxite in WA since the 1960s and employs about 4,000 people in the state.

Threatened species protection

The settlement includes a new agreement covering Alcoa’s Huntly and Willowdale mining operations, around 100 kilometres south of Perth, until 2045.

“This agreement will enable government to assess the cumulative environmental impacts of Alcoa’s local mining operations and provide strong protections for threatened species and ecological communities, while offering Alcoa long-term operational certainty,” Mr Watt said in a statement.

A cockatoo is pictured from below, poking its black feathered head with a white cheek patch from a hollow

Carnaby’s cockatoos are among the endangered species found in the Northern Jarrah Forest. (Supplied: John Tucker)

However, he said he had also allowed the company to continue with “limited land clearing” for the next 18 months, while the assessment is underway.

Alcoa maintained it operated in accordance with the EPA Act, but has acknowledged the clearing.

“We are committed to responsible operations and welcome this important step in transitioning our approvals to a contemporary assessment process that provides increased certainty for our operations and our people into the future,” Alcoa CEO William Oplinger said in a statement.

Land clearing opposition

The Pennsylvania-based company has cleared around 28,000 hectares of the world’s only jarrah forests in WA as part of its bauxite mining operation.

The company is required to rehabilitate the land it mines before returning it to the state, but in 2023 was found not to have met the government’s rehabilitation completion criteria.

It has faced growing opposition to further land clearing and the potential environmental impact in recent years.

Earlier this year, it was revealed the company was being investigated by WA’s environmental regulator over allegations it mined too close to a large jarrah tree.

A dying tree stands alone on a raised block of land on a sparsely vegetated landscape.

The tree in close proximity to Alcoa’s mining activity, which is being investigated by the state’s environmental watchdog. (Supplied)

“Significant trees” are protected under special exemption conditions allowing Alcoa to keep operating while its expansion is assessed by the EPA.

Alcoa has denied any wrongdoing, but if a breach is proven, it could make it illegal for Alcoa to continue mining during the EPA assessment.

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