BCI is committed to protecting the environment and values the unique landscapes in which we operate.
For BCI, environmental stewardship means maintaining a healthy natural environment by conserving resources, minimising waste and emissions, and supporting ecological health and resilience — now and into the future.
By integrating biodiversity considerations into our operations, BCI is committed to mitigating risks and contributing to sustainable environmental stewardship.
Through our ongoing monitoring programs, we will continue to identify evolving threats to biodiversity, investigate the causes of emerging risks and implement management actions to avoid, reduce or offset any impacts to the ecology of vital ecosystems.
Through our research partnership, we will continue to invest in new research focused on significant threatened species, including short-nosed sea snakes, migratory shorebirds and the green sawfish which inhabit nearshore and subtidal environments along the Pilbara coastline.
BCI is committed to adopting sustainable management of resources and carbon emissions and the identification of material climate-related risks and opportunities to be adopted over the Project’s operational life cycle.
BCI is committed to the ongoing preservation of biodiversity in the environments in which we operate to ensure important ecosystems that provide food and protective habitat for protected fauna local to the Mardie Salt site are maintained.
Routine environmental surveys include monitoring of benthic communities and habitats of:
- Algal Mats
- Samphire
- Seaward and landward mangroves
- Subtidal seagrass
Terrestrial and marina fauna survey monitoring activity includes:
- Marine Turtles (flatback, green and hawksbill)
- Migratory Shorebirds
- Feral Fauna
- Marine Pests
Monitoring of marine water quality will be undertaken in alignment with capital and maintenance dredging programs to ensure there is no change in water quality from dredging activity.
BCI also has an extensive network of groundwater monitoring bores which allows real time monitoring of groundwater levels and salinity through telemetry.
BCI is collaborating with the Western Australian Marine Science Institution (WAMSI) to fund marine and intertidal research. BCI’s Summary Offset Plan outlines the process for planning and implementing the Mardie Project Marine and Intertidal Research Offsets Program, as required under Condition 83 of EPBC 2018/8236 and EPBC 2022/9169 and Condition B10-1 of Ministerial Statement No. 1264.
The Summary Offset Plan was written by WAMSI on advice from DPIRD and DBCA representatives from the Steering Committee.
The Summary Offset Plan:
- provides direction on how the Projects will be designed and implemented to fill identified knowledge gaps through an open and transparent process.
- describes the processes and timing for the development and implementation of the Projects.
- provides an overview of the governance and management structures that have been put in place to ensure independent and transparent Projects.
- outlines the role of the Steering Committee of key WA agencies (and Commonwealth if requested), which will provide the overarching project direction to ensure that the research is fit-for-purpose and fulfils the requirements of environmental approvals.
- will be delivered through WAMSI and will involve key science institutions invited to participate through a transparent process.
Click here to see the Summary Offset Plan published on WAMSI’s website.
The Mardie operation leverages the natural abundance of solar evaporation from seawater in the production of salt. The Mardie operation relies on sun and wind energy to sustainably produce salt through evaporation, resulting in a significantly lower carbon footprint than conventional mining operations.
Climate adaptability has been a central consideration in the design and operation of Mardie project. Infrastructure has been designed and located to improve resilience against projected climate change impacts, such as increased cyclone frequency and intensity, increasing sea levels and extreme weather events.
Climate Adaptation and Resilience:
- Identify material climate-related risks and opportunities for the project over a 100-year timeframe
- Describe practicable and meaningful mitigations to climate-related risks
- Outline actions to be taken to maximise benefit from climate-related opportunities
Greenhouse gas emissions are monitored to meet mandatory regulatory reporting obligations aimed at reducing carbon footprints.
Businesses are required to accurately measure, report and disclose greenhouse gas emissions through NPI and NGER reports to the Clean Energy Regulator in alignment with IFSR and ASRS standards and the adoption of IFRS S2.
BCI are committed to the sustainable management of water, waste and effluents via the efficient use of water and other natural resources across the Mardie project.
- Ensure current and future groundwater and seawater use meets our approval requirements
- Fully reusable crib and wash stations on site
- Return of more than 18,000 recyclable containers through the Containers for Change program
We will continue to apply waste mitigation hierarchy to minimise waste generation, enhance recycling practices and reduce reliance on landfill.
Mardie has future plans to repurpose waste brine to produce Sulphate of Potash (SOP) creating additional export value for the business while reducing waste.
