After six decades the US miner has left Kwinana with a contaminated plant and enough toxic red mud to fill Optus Stadium 138 times.
US miner Alcoa will stop producing alumina at its Kwinana refinery by September,leading to the loss of 550 direct jobs with another 200 to go in the following 12 months.
The boss of Alcoa Australia has been promoted to lead the US miner’s global operation from his Perth base after just seven months with the aluminium specialist.
Alcoa’s controversial mining of bauxite in WA’s south-west will be subject to the most detailed review possible by the state’s independent environment watchdog.
US miner Alcoa will choose who monitors whether its bauxite extraction that threatens Perth’s water supply complies with new guidelines announced by the state government on Thursday.
Five workers at Alcoa’s refinery in Pinjarra were affected by a chemical spill late on Tuesday,with two taken to hospital for treatment.
Perth’s largest source of drinking water has escaped damage from a massive blaze that burnt along its water edge over the weekend.
The Cook government plans a new environmental approval regime to keep besieged bauxite miner Alcoa operating but has promised standards will not be lowered.
The board of US aluminium giant Alcoa which is battling to obtain vital mining approvals in WA replaced chief executive Roy Harvey on Sunday.
Digging into Alcoa’s mining in WA’s jarrah forests long-shielded by government-endorsed secrecy has revealed an environmental mess.
WA’s environmental watchdog has invited public comment on whether it should undertake a detailed independent review of Alcoa’s mining in WA’s jarrah forests.