Three quarters of our tenements are on farmland that is mostly already cleared. Hence, BRL place great importance and focus on the impacts on farms and on rural communities.
It is equally important that we manage the agenda for the one quarter that is forested state land as Alcoa and others have developed the world’s best mining and rehabilitation of forested lands. We will do exactly the same. There will be an opportunistic chance to remove the bauxite from plantations on state lands as these are harvested and to improve the soil characteristics for subsequent plantations. We will attempt to manage that timing.

Minimum Impact Mining

Bauxite Resources Ltd (BRL) is committed to applying mining methodologies that engender low impacts to both environmental and social factors within a region.  Additional to a surface mining operation that is centered on appropriate surface and ground water management, flora and fauna conservation, disease and fire management and management of potential issues such as noise and dust, BRL focus on a number of other facets pivotal to Minimum Impact Mining.  These include:
• blasting is an unacceptable practice close to rural communities. We will not use blasting to fracture rock, instead we will use mechanical means to extract bauxite ore;
• trucking density and frequency is a potential impact on local communities.  Therefore, we will manage truck movements appropriately and in particular coordinate with school bus runs;
• we will endeavour to employ local people and local contractors to operate in local areas, believing that they will be empathetic to local issues; and
• importantly we shall complete our mine planning after organised and systematic 'Conversations with the Community'.

Community

The philosophy involving ongoing “conversations with communities” underpins BRL’s objective of ensuring effective long-term relationships with our communities.  Community involvement is an integral component of the environmental and social aspects of any future BRL development in the Darling Range region. With numerous mining and development activities proposed throughout this region, the dissemination of information to stakeholders and their involvement in the decision-making process is vital in facilitating the progression of these developments. BRL’s approach to community involvement is described in the company’s recently revised Mission Statement and Core Values which state that wherever the company operates BRL will “… be a sustainable generator of economic and social prosperity to all stakeholders through the responsible development of resources”.
BRL are internally fostering a culture of informing, listening, responding and giving local communities a say so that our operations can be adjusted to meet common needs.

Rehabilitation

BRL mines on a combination of freehold and Crown land and therefore are sensitive to the variety of land uses that require restoration.  To this end, the objective for our rehabilitation program is to achieve a stable and functioning landform that is consistent with the surrounding landscape (be it agricultural or native forests) and other environmental values and ecological functions. 
Mine pits will be small in size to allow rehabilitation to occur as a staged process.  Farm lands will be returned to better farm lands than previously, and forested lands will meet the world’s best standards of other bauxite mining in Western Australia.
Pit floors will be deep ripped prior to return of overburden and topsoil, which will be ‘landscaped’ in a way to reflect original topography, drainage and landform.  Planting of improved pasture species (on land mined within agricultural properties) and native plant species endemic to a region (on land mined within forested areas), coupled with optimised rehabilitation methodologies, will ensure that BRL will achieve is commitment to redeveloping a stable and functioning landform.

Conservation Initiatives

The Woylie (Bettongia penicillata) was once common and widespread across much of southern Australia from Shark Bay, across the southern half of South Australia, the northwest corner of Victoria and into central NSW.  It suffered severe declines after European settlement (particularly from fox and cat predation and disease) and by 1970, was restricted to three small areas of open forest and woodland in southwest Western Australia.  The Woylie is now critically endangered
BRL are assisting the Department of Environment and Conservation (DEC) Woylie Research Centre and the Perth Zoo fight to re-establish Woylie populations, through the establishment of a Woylie Sanctuary within exceptional habitat on a BRL property in the Shire of Chittering WA and co-funding a ‘Disease Investigation Managers’ position at the Perth Zoo.