Worsley Mine Expansion – Revised Proposal

Overview

South32 Worsley Alumina Pty Ltd currently operates the Boddington Bauxite Mine (located approximately 5km south-west of Boddington), Worsley Refinery (located approximately 15 km north-west of Collie) and port operations at the Bunbury Port.

The new proposal is for the:

• expansion of the existing mining area and incorporation of new mining areas;
• development of a bauxite transport corridor;
• development of a contingency mining area and maintenance work at the Refinery; and
• development of associated mine/support infrastructure.

The proposal involves clearing of up to 7,119.5 ha of native vegetation for the mine and mining related activities. The proposal also requires two river crossings over the Hotham River.

Why your views matter

At this initial stage of the EIA process, comment is simply sought on whether or not the EPA should assess a proposal and, if so, what level of assessment is considered appropriate.

What happens next

Following the seven day public comment period and consideration of any comments received, the EPA will decide whether or not this proposal requires environmental impact assessment and, if so, what level of assessment will be applied.

The EPA's decisions on level of assessment are released each Monday on the EPA's website.