{"id":885322,"date":"2026-09-09T05:52:20","date_gmt":"2026-09-09T05:52:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/885322\/"},"modified":"2026-09-09T05:52:20","modified_gmt":"2026-09-09T05:52:20","slug":"push-to-change-karara-mining-mid-west-ports-licensing-over-geraldton-black-dust-pollution","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/885322\/","title":{"rendered":"Push to change Karara Mining, Mid West Ports licensing over Geraldton ‘black dust’ pollution"},"content":{"rendered":"

Western Australia’s environmental regulator says it will look to change the operating licences of a Chinese-owned mining company and the Mid West Ports Authority after months of investigation into dust pollution around Geraldton.<\/p>\n

Investigators from the Department of Water and Environmental Regulation (DWER) began examining the nature and source of dust earlier this year, after a surge in complaints of red, black and pink dust from residents and businesses around the city, with complaints localised around its port.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

Uncovered trains filled with black iron ore enter the Geraldton Port daily. (ABC Midwest & Wheatbelt: Chris Lewis)<\/p>\n

Iron ore is the port’s main export, with Chinese\u2011owned Karara Mining, which ships magnetite concentrate, and WA\u2011based Fenix Resources, which exports hematite, the two key players.<\/p>\n

In a statement released today, DWER said its investigation of the “black dust” complaints found magnetite dust emitted from “certain industrial activities” was a contributor to overall dust pollution around the city.<\/p>\n

“As a result of this investigation, the department is engaging with Karara Mining Limited and the Mid West Ports Authority in relation to potential licence amendments to deliver improved dust management outcomes,” a DWER spokesperson said.<\/p>\n

DWER did not disclose the changes it would ask the port and miner to make.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

Karara Mine is a large iron ore project in Western Australia’s Mid West region, majority-owned and operated by China’s Ansteel Group. (ABC Midwest & Wheatbelt: Chris Lewis)<\/p>\n

Long-running community concern<\/p>\n

There have been consistent calls<\/a> from Geraldton residents and community leaders for wagons pulled by Karara’s trains, which carry its iron ore from mine to port, to be fully covered.<\/p>\n

In a region known for its strong southerly winds, the path from mine to port loops to the south of schools, hospitals and houses.<\/p>\n

Residents have previously told the ABC that black dust picked up by the winds was coating their homes and businesses, and costing thousands of dollars to clean.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

A Karara train loaded with iron ore being delivered to Mid West Ports. (ABC Midwest & Wheatbelt: Chris Lewis)<\/p>\n

DWER said its investigation into the separate complaints around pink and red dust were ongoing, but nearing completion.<\/p>\n

“While substantial information has been assessed, further technical analysis is needed before conclusions can be reached regarding other dust sources or potential regulatory action,” DWER said.<\/p>\n

“Such investigations can take time to ensure evidence is thoroughly assessed, findings are supported by evidence and processes are fair and defensible.”<\/p>\n

\"The<\/p>\n

Iron ore is the main export from the Geraldton Port. (ABC Midwest & Wheatbelt: Chris Lewis)<\/p>\n

Both Karara Mining and Mid West Ports have been contacted for comment.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Western Australia’s environmental regulator says it will look to change the operating licences of a Chinese-owned mining company…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":885323,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[22],"tags":[64,63,455129,75,455133,455134,79961,455135,455126,455128,455131,455130,455127,455132,428353,108326,1836,128,45],"class_list":["post-885322","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-environment","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-chinese-miner","tag-environment","tag-geraldton-black-dust","tag-geraldton-pink-dust","tag-geraldton-port","tag-geraldton-red-dust","tag-iron-ore-dust","tag-karara","tag-karara-dust-conditions","tag-license-conditions","tag-magnetite","tag-mid-west-ports","tag-mid-west-wa","tag-midwest-news","tag-public-health","tag-science","tag-wa-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/885322","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=885322"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/885322\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/885323"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=885322"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=885322"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=885322"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}