Cloudbreak Mine

Cloudbreak Mine is a metal ore mining facility operated by CHICHESTER METALS PTY LTD in WA. Like all covered facilities, iron ore, gold and base metal mining uses significant diesel and electricity. Under Australia's Safeguard Mechanism, Cloudbreak Mine must keep its annual emissions below a stepping-down baseline — or purchase carbon credits to cover any overage.

In 2023–24, Cloudbreak Mine reported emissions of 295 kt against a baseline obligation of 267 kt — an overage of 28 kt. The facility covered the overage through a combination of ACCUs and SMCs.

Purchasing credits is legal and intended by the Safeguard Mechanism's design — the policy deliberately allows facilities to choose between cutting on-site emissions or funding abatement elsewhere in the economy. Whether credit purchases represent genuine long-term decarbonisation depends on whether the facility's absolute emissions are trending down over time. The chart above shows the trajectory since reporting began. This question applies to all covered facilities under the Safeguard Mechanism, not Cloudbreak Mine specifically.

Across the metal ore mining sector, 8 of 8 covered facilities reported emissions above their baseline in 2023–24. The table below compares Cloudbreak Mine with other metal ore mining facilities covered by the Safeguard Mechanism.