US mining company Alcoa hit with ‘unprecedented’ $55m penalty for illegal clearing of WA jarrah forests

WA’s northern jarrah forests are habitat for endangered Baudin’s black cockatoos (pictured) and Carnaby’s black cockatoos. Photograph: animalinfo/Getty Images/iStockphoto

The environment minister, Murray Watt, has handed a $55m penalty to the US mining giant Alcoa for unlawful land clearing for bauxite mining in Western Australia’s northern jarrah forests, south of Perth.

As Watt announced the “unprecedented” remediation order, he said he had also granted the company an exemption to clear further habitat for 18 months while the government considered a proposal for an extension of the company’s mining operations to 2045.