FAQ

Environment

Despite our best efforts to avoid all mangroves, there will be 4.23ha of mangrove area directly impacted – representing 0.04% of mangroves within the East Exmouth Gulf and is the equivalent of two AFL ovals.

The good thing is that the proposed salt ponds are to be located well away from the nearby coastal mangrove zone.

Furthermore the very, very large areas of mangroves to the south of the project will never be developed by us as we do not own licences for this land. We support moves for this region to become a National Park and protected forever.

After working with UWA researchers to confirm baseline water quality data, we are pleased to share we have engineered a multi-port diffuser. Discharging the bitterns (seawater which has had water and sodium chloride removed) through this will ensure the mixing zone is minimised no bitterns will be detected away from this zone. The diffuser will be located on the proposed jetty to the north of the project, into ocean off the Urala coast. As with our planned shipping, there will be no bitterns discharge into the Exmouth Gulf.

You can read more about bitterns here: https://weare.strongerwithsalt.com.au/bitterns-from-solar-salt-production-explained/

No river systems will be lost, should the Ashburton Salt project go ahead, and the community will still have the same access to creeks near the project as it does today.

Even so, we are open to discussing community ideas as the project progresses.

We know the Exmouth Gulf is special which is why we have done all we can to minimise any interface with the Exmouth Gulf, locating the project as far north as possible and shipping into the ocean (not the Exmouth Gulf). You can see this and more at https://www.strongerwithsalt.com.au/environment

We have spent five years researching how the local ecosystem interacts to develop a contemporary project that minimises environmental impacts.

We have made a commitment to be transparent about these and will share the results of our peer-reviewed research as it is finalised. The best way to keep up to date is to sign up for email updates 

Jobs

We will be looking to help develop new housing in town to make this possible going forward. In addition, the Shire of Ashburton’s plans for managing Onslow’s population growth is outlined in the Local Planning Strategy 2021. The economic boost resulting from $12.8 million being brought home by some 90 local employees each year will also have a positive impact on the town through local spending on goods and services.

We believe using a residential workforce is the way to go. K+S doesn’t use FIFO at any operations anywhere in the world. We are realistic and accept that it might not be possible to go 100% residential right from the beginning but it is our long term goal.

We are proud to be part of the Pilbara and look forward to being part of the Onslow community.

Absolutely, where viable to do so, we want to give local businesses priority. It makes economic sense to use local businesses and it builds community too.

We expect most people will live in Onslow simply because it is so close to the site. But we will look into ways to make it possible for people from Exmouth as well.

We are not at the recruiting stage yet but keep an eye on this page for future updates.

We are planning to have a residential workforce (no FIFO) and there should be around 90 permanent, local jobs available when the time comes.

We believe using a residential workforce is the way to go. K+S doesn’t use FIFO at any operations anywhere in the world.

We are proud to be part of the Pilbara and look forward to being part of the Onslow community.

Project

Environmental studies conducted for the project are using not only satellite photos, but aerial imagery and lidar topography measurements taken from an airplane. These are much more detailed than satellite pictures alone. The EPA will publish all those studies during the 12 week public comment period. Until then, indicative maps of the proposed footprint can be found here: https://weare.strongerwithsalt.com.au/salt-project-30-footprint-cut-set-to-reduce-environmental-impact/

Determining the best route for road access to site has not been an easy tasks of this project. We are close to finalising these plans and will be able to share them in greater detail soon.

Ashburton Salt is a new solar salt project planned for an area south-west of Onslow, just across the Ashburton River and past the Tubridgi Gas Storage facility.

We are currently finalising our Definitive Feasibility Study which will confirm the final project investment amount.

We actually have investigated ways to partner with desalination plants. A lot of factors have to come together in the right way to make that work. Sadly it did not add up.

We have recently updated our proposed project footprint – you can read more about it at https://weare.strongerwithsalt.com.au/salt-project-30-footprint-cut-set-to-reduce-environmental-impact/

It has been a long road but we are just finishing off engineering and environmental submissions.

We still need to obtain environmental approval, a mining license and an agreement with traditional owners, the Thalanyji People.

You can read more about the approvals process here https://www.strongerwithsalt.com.au/environment 

K+S Salt Australia is a local company established by K+S, a German-based salt and potash producer.