South32 will slash $830 million off the value of its WA alumina business in response to proposed environmental protections the miner says threaten the viability of its operations in the state.
The OK for South32 to clear 39 square kilometres of jarrah forest near Boddington has been slammed as disgraceful by environmental groups.
Normally,the saying is you need money to make money,but in WA it seems you need ore to make more – and keep a close watch on China,costs and the energy transition.
Boards are taking a cautious stance on lifting dividends as businesses face rising costs and an economy that is slowing because of steep interest rate rises.
South32 has slashed the value of a key mine it is developing in the United States by $US1.3 billion after the project was hit by a blowout in construction costs and delays.
“They’ve cleared so much,so quick,if we don’t stand up,if we remain silent,the biodiversity will be gone,” the botanist warned.
When it was spun out of BHP with a mix of assets deemed non-core by the mining giant,commentators were variously calling it “CrapCo” or “DudCo”. Several years later,many of its commodities are in strong demand.
Details of the miner’s further diversification into green hydrogen remain elusive,even as its $5.9 billion Iron Bridge magnetite project finally gets ready to deliver the goods.
Alcoa will only use bauxite mined in WA’s jarrah forests in its local refineries in a decision that will slightly reduce its impact on a threatened ecosystem.
The US aluminium giant is confident it can mine the WA jarrah forests critical to its business for decades despite a short-term environmental approval delay.
Robust aluminium and metallurgical coal prices have helped tip the BHP spin-off from a loss last year to a $3.87 billion annual profit.