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Parliamentary Questions


Question On Notice No. 1098 asked in the Legislative Council on 29 March 2018 by Hon Robin Chapple

Question Directed to the: Minister for Regional Development representing the Minister for State Development, Jobs and Trade
Parliament: 40 Session: 1
Tabled Paper No: 1387- View tabled paper


Question

With respect to Alcoa in Australia, its subsidiaries and associated companies, and their bauxite mining operations in Western Australia, I ask:
(a) how many tenements are held by each company by type, number and hectare size;
(b) how many hectares have been mined in each of the last five years;
(c) how many hectares will be mined each year when the company expands to its full approved rate of production;
(d) what is the total area mined to date;
(e) how much of the total area mined required the clearing of native forest;
(f) how many hectares have been rehabilitated to date;
(g) how much of this area has been rehabilitated with jarrah forest species;
(h) what is the current annual production of:
(i) bauxite; and
(ii) alumina;
(i) when the company expands to its full approved rate of production, what will be the annual production of:
(i) bauxite; and
(ii) alumina;
(j) how many hectares are currently used as Residue Disposal Areas;
(k) what is the total area of closed Residue Disposal Areas;
(l) what area of new Residue Disposal Areas will be required when the company expands to its full approved rate of production;
(m) how much residue has been produced in each of the last five years;
(n) what is the total amount of residue produced to date;
(o) how much residue will be produced each year when the company expands to its full approved rate of production;
(p) when do the company's mining leases expire;
(q) when does the company anticipate completion of its approved expansion;
(r) when did Alcoa begin exporting bauxite;
(s) how much bauxite has been exported to date;
(t) how many hectares are mined each year for bauxite for export;
(u) how many hectares have been mined to date for bauxite for export;
(v) will the Minister please table a map showing the mining leases, the area mined to date, and the area rehabilitated to date; and
(w) if no to (v), why not?

Answered on 17 May 2018

The Department of Jobs, Tourism, Science and Innovation advises:

 

(a)    Tenements held by Alcoa of Australia Limited (Alcoa) are listed below. 1 State Agreement Act tenement;

        ·         9 General Purpose Leases;

        ·         1 Miscellaneous Licence;

        ·         4 pending Exploration Licences; and

        ·         15 Mining Leases.

Further tenement details outlined [Refer to tabled paper no.]

 

(b)    

Clearing (ha)

Year

Huntly Mine

Willowdale Mine

2013

674

211

2014

633

195

2015

571

184

2016

470

160

2017

497

178

 

(c)     

Approved Mining and Management Program predicted clearing rates (ha):

 

Year

2017

2018

2019

2020

2021

Planned Clearing - Huntly

491

487

486

475

478

Planned Clearing - Willowdale

317

166

169

213

215

 

(d)    

Total Clearing up to December 2017 (ha)

Jarrahdale

4,090

Huntly

15,189

Willowdale

5,551

Total:

24,830

 

(e)       100%.

 

(f)      

Total Rehabilitation up to December 2017 (ha):

Jarrahdale

4,088

Huntly

11,028

Willowdale

4,204

Total:

19,320

 

(g)     15,358 ha have been rehabilitated using jarrah forest species. The remaining 3,962 ha consist predominantly of Eucalyptus species native to  the eastern states of Australia and some areas of pine. These introduced species were selected for their resistance to Phytophthora.

 

Rehabilitation Post 1988 (ha):

Jarrahdale

2,254

Huntly

9,073

Willowdale

4,031

Total:

15,358

 

(h)-(i-ii)   Bauxite 33.2 Mt (dry) and alumina approximately 9 Mt

 

 

(i)-(i-ii)   Alcoa has a five-year ‘rolling’ mine plan that is reviewed annually by the Mine Management Progam Liaison Group in accordance with Ministerial Statement 728 .

2017 – 2021 Approved MMP (Mt dry)

2017

32.66

2018

32.384

2019

32.936

2020

31.924

2021

33.58

 Alumina production limits are prescribed through Ministerial Statements and are subject to relevant Part V licensing limits under the Environmental Protection Act 1986.

 

(j)                     1,500 ha

 

(k)                    300 ha

 

(l)   With the introduction of residue filtration, Alcoa can now stack within the existing footprint for a number of years without the need for expanding, even if production was increased to approved limits.

Alcoa has Long-Term Residue Management Strategies (LTRMS) for each refinery which are updated every five years. These are designed to inform both government and community about long-term planning and management strategies including the location of future residue drying areas; current plans for closure and future land use options; and current research into residue management and reuse.

 

(m)  

Residue Production (Mt)

 

2013

2014

2015

2016

2017

Kwinana

4.52

4.70

4.55

4.62

4.37

Pinjarra

8.30

8.53

8.60

8.71

8.65

Wagerup

5.14

5.10

5.07

5.24

5.21

 

(n)                

Total residue produced by refinery to the end of 2017 (Mt)

Kwinana

175.5

Pinjarra

263.6

Wagerup

123.7

 

(o)                

Projected Residue Production if Alcoa expanded to approved production limits

 

Production (Mtpa Al2O3)

Residue (Mtpa)

Kwinana

2.2

4.6

Pinjarra

5.0

9.5

Wagerup

4.7

8.9

 

(p)   ML 1SA currently expires in 2045 but provision exists in the Alumina Refinery Agreement Act 1961 for Alcoa to apply for a further mineral lease. This information is publicly available at AustLii Westen Australian Current Acts at:

http://www.austlii.edu.au/au/legis/wa/consol_act/araa1961256/

 

(q)        The Wagerup Unit Three expansion remains under suspension.

 

(r)          2016.

(s)

Bauxite Exports (Kt, wet)

2016

87

2017

890

2018 (YTD March)

238

(t)  Approximately 36 ha to date. Bauxite mined for export is included as part of Alcoa’s approved mining program. 

(u) Approximately 17 ha to date. Bauxite mined for export is included as part of Alcoa’s approved mining program.

(v) See map [Refer to tabled paper no]

(w) Not applicable.