Rinehart’s Atlas escalates ‘double-counting’ emissions spat
The head of project development at Hancock Prospecting has taken aim at “onerous and overreaching” conditions imposed on a delayed West Australian mine, and claims the state’s environmental agency wrongly double-counted emissions from a planned iron ore project.
Atlas Iron, a subsidiary of Gina Rinehart’s Hancock, estimates regulatory processes and delays affecting the McPhee Creek iron ore mine have delayed billions in tax revenue for the government, and are damaging Australia’s reputation as an attractive jurisdiction to do business.
Gina Rinehart’s Atlas Iron is appealing to the WA Environment Minister over several “onerous” conditions imposed on a new mine. Bloomberg
The McPhee project was given the green light by the WA Environmental Protection Agency earlier this year subject to several conditions, including a large mining exclusion zone around a bat cave, which the company wants to reduce.
The EPA’s estimated scope 1 emissions for the multibillion-dollar mine are also being contested by Atlas, which argues the agency has “double-counted” certain emissions from third-party transport.
Hancock project chief executive Sanjiv Manchanda confirmed on Sunday the company had appealed to WA Environment Minister Reece Whitby to reduce several conditions the EPA had slapped on the project.
“The delays in assessing the McPhee project, and an appeal necessitated by overreaching and onerous conditions, has delayed our investment, preventing the creation of jobs and economic activity in WA,” Mr Manchanda said.
“The current policy environment, duplication of processes, overreach from many departments and significant delays for approvals threatens further mining investment, revenue and consequently, living standards.”
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