CLEVELAND–CLIFFS
— KOOLYANOBBING
419. Hon ROBIN SCOTT to the minister representing the
Minister for Mines and Petroleum:
I refer to a story in the Kalgoorlie
Miner today—Thursday, 17 May—stating that the minister was ''blindsided''
by the closure of the Cleveland–Cliffs Koolyanobbing iron ore mine
site.
(1) Was the
minister not aware that Koolyanobbing was closing down at the end of the year
anyway?
(2) Can the
minister confirm that concerns were raised in Parliament about the future of
jobs at the Esperance port should the Koolyanobbing mine site close, along with
the nearby Carina mine site?
(3) Will the
minister confirm that he had the power and authority to grant permission to
Mineral Resources Ltd to create two new mine sites in the Yilgarn region,
therefore maintaining mining jobs and Esperance port jobs?
(4) Does the minister expect to be
blindsided again in the near future?
Hon
ALANNAH MacTIERNAN replied:
I thank the member for the question.
The Minister for Mines and Petroleum provides the following information.
(1)–(2) The
minister was made aware that Cleveland–Cliffs' Koolyanobbing
iron ore operation would be closing and ceasing production at the end of 2018.
The minister's comments to the media were in reference to Cliffs
bringing forward the timing of the closure of the operation to June, from the
original time line provided by Cliffs. The McGowan government is working
diligently with all interested parties to facilitate an agreement regarding the
future of operations at Koolyanobbing.
(3) The minister
has various powers under the Mining Act 1978; however, the Minister for
Environment decided, on environmental reasons, not to approve mining at the
Bungalbin East and Jackson JS sites under the Environmental Protection Act
1986.
(4) The
Department of Mines, Industry Regulation and Safety provides regular briefings
and updates about projects and industry developments.