Mining company South32 has announced that its Worsley Alumina operations have been granted federal environmental approval for the Worsley Mine Development Project under the Environmental Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act (1999).

This milestone is aligned with the Western Australian State environmental approval received on 20 December 2024.

Worsley Alumina includes the Boddington bauxite mine, a refinery near Collie and associated port facilities at Bunbury.

The project is designed to facilitate access to bauxite reserves necessary to sustain production levels at Worsley Alumina.

The commencement of mining in new bauxite areas near existing operations is expected in the fourth quarter of the financial year 2025 (Q4 FY25), with the development forecasted to extend the production span to at least FY2036.

South32 CEO Graham Kerr said: “The Federal Government’s approval of the Worsley Mine Development Project is a positive outcome for Worsley Alumina and its workforce, the Peel and South West communities, and the local economy.

“Worsley Alumina has been operating for more than 40 years and is one of the largest employers in the region, supporting jobs for thousands of workers and contractors. The Aluminium Stewardship Initiative has awarded Worsley Alumina multiple certifications against its global standards for responsible production of alumina, a vital component in the production of aluminium, which is a metal critical to the global energy transition.”

Kerr added: “We look forward to executing the project in accordance with the approvals granted by the Federal and Western Australian governments.”

Worsley Alumina supplies alumina to the Mozal Aluminium smelter at Mozambique. It achieved the Aluminium Stewardship Initiative (ASI) Chain of Custody V2 (2022) standard certification in November 2024.