Worsley Alumina Carbon Capture Project

South32's Worsley Alumina Carbon Capture project is a feasibility-stage post-combustion carbon capture initiative at South32 Limited's Worsley Alumina refinery near Collie in Western Australia's South West region, designed to capture up to approximately 700,000 tonnes per annum of CO₂ from bauxite refining process emissions. Under a joint feasibility study agreement announced in February 2025 with Australian storage developer Pilot Energy, captured CO₂ would be transported to and permanently sequestered at Pilot's Cliff Head CCS project, which is repurposing the depleted Cliff Head oil field approximately 12 kilometres offshore Dongara in the Perth Basin. In April 2025, Japanese engineering firm Chiyoda Corporation (onshore facility scope) and Knutsen NYK Carbon Carriers (KNCC, a joint venture between Japan's NYK and Norway's Knutsen Group, marine transportation scope) were awarded the feasibility study contract, with study completion targeted for Q3 2025. The study is intended to define the technical and commercial basis for a Scope 1 emissions reduction pathway at Worsley Alumina, and its output may support broader engagement with other Western Australian emitters for CO₂ aggregation into the Cliff Head storage hub. Capture technology vendor, capex, timeline to FID, and CO₂ transport route details have not yet been publicly disclosed.