Ravensthorpe Nickel Operation

Ravensthorpe Nickel Operation is a metal ore mining facility operated by FQM Australia Nickel 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, Ravensthorpe Nickel Operation must keep its annual emissions below a stepping-down baseline — or purchase carbon credits to cover any overage.

In 2023–24, Ravensthorpe Nickel Operation reported emissions of 172 kt against a baseline obligation of 148 kt — an overage of 24 kt. The facility covered the 24 kt overage by purchasing 24,196 Australian Carbon Credit Units (ACCUs) — credits generated by carbon abatement projects elsewhere in Australia such as soil carbon farming, avoided land clearing, and landfill gas capture.

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 Ravensthorpe Nickel Operation specifically.

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