Leading the way: Alcoa Australia's Forest Research Centre takes root

Alcoa Australia is strengthening its enduring dedication to safeguarding, revitalising, and disseminating knowledge about the forest by establishing a dedicated research centre.

Over the next five years, the Forest Research Centre will receive $9.9 million in research funding from Alcoa, in connection with the company's bauxite mining activities in specific regions of the Northern Jarrah Forest in Western Australia's Darling Range.

Alcoa is expanding its internal environmental research team from 4 to 11 members and enhancing existing facilities across various locations in WA to bolster its research initiatives.

Tanya Simmonds, Interim Vice President of Operations in Australia, expressed that the Forest Research Centre will leverage the extensive research conducted over decades, which has garnered numerous awards for the company's outstanding environmental management practices.

Simmonds said, “Over the past 50 years, we’ve maintained an in-house team of environmental researchers and contributed to collaborative projects, leading to significant progress in rehabilitation outcomes, water management, fauna management and return, and countless other advancements in environmental stewardship.”

“Through the Forest Research Centre, we aim not only to expand understanding of the forest but contribute to improving overall forest health, as well as facilitating the wide-reaching application of the science across all manner of land uses and forest management globally.”

The centre will incorporate various ongoing environmental research endeavours and serve as a hub for future investigations. These studies will revolve around five fundamental principles: extending Alcoa's commitment to restoring plant diversity, facilitating fauna repopulation, and practising responsible water management. Additionally, the centre will venture into novel research domains aimed at bolstering forest preservation post-mining and integrating Indigenous cultural perspectives and traditions through a collaborative scientific approach.

At the Alcoa Environmental Symposium hosted at Murdoch University in Perth on May 16, 2024, Tanya Simmonds unveiled the establishment of the Forest Research Centre. This gathering united more than 100 researchers, academics, as well as industry and government stakeholders, fostering the exchange of insights on environmental research spanning flora, fauna, water, and climate.

Professor Treena Burgess, the Executive Director of Murdoch University's esteemed Harry Butler Institute, welcomed the announcement warmly. She underscored that the Forest Research Centre's establishment is poised to significantly amplify avenues for continual advancements in environmental stewardship, instilling hope for a greener future.

Prof. Burgess said, “Murdoch University and Alcoa have longstanding research collaborations focused on critical environmental challenges associated with mineral extraction, including fauna conservation, ecosystem restoration, and dieback management.”

“The work that comes out of the new Forest Research Centre is likely to have broad, positive impacts on mine rehabilitation and sustainable land use.”

Simmonds emphasised that the Forest Research Centre would grant researchers entry to a vast "living laboratory," encompassing untouched forest regions, rehabilitation sites from the past 50 years, and recently abandoned mining areas. This expansive scope offers diverse research prospects for both seasoned researchers and students alike.

For deeper insights into Alcoa's efforts in advancing sustainable bauxite mining and their contributions to society, as well as to learn how other global mining companies are embracing environmental standards in their projects, get your access to AL Circle's specialised report titled "Sustainability in the Global Aluminium Industry".