Australian Marine Conservation Society rejoices as K+S cans plans for $850m salt project near Exmouth Gulf

Marine environmentalists are “really relieved” a German chemical giant has binned a salt project in WA’s north. K+S sent an email to various stakeholders on Thursday morning informing them the Ashburton Salt development had been scrapped. The proposal to evaporate briny water and harvest the leftover salt south of Onslow was first announced in 2016. The project was slated to cost $850 million and be operational by 2022, but K+S had made little progress on the development in recent years. WA’s Environmental Protection Authority opened up public feedback on the Ashburton Salt mining plan in September 2023, but since then there had been no further mentions of the project’s progress. The Australian Marine Conservation Society mounted a fierce campaign to scupper Ashburton Salt, which included hiring billboards in the German city of Kassel — where K+S is headquartered. AMCS WA director Paul Gamblin said he was “really relieved” by K+S’ decision to pull up stumps after “years of hard fighting”. Mr Gamblin said the AMCS had targeted Ashburton Salt in particular, and not other nearby salt projects, because of Ashburton Salt’s potential impacts to the Exmouth Gulf. “K+S’ project would have major negative impacts on the wetlands at Exmouth Gulf, which is designated as a wetland of national significance,” he said. “The Gulf is Ningaloo Reef’s nursery . . . many species on the Reef rely on the Gulf’s bio-diverse environment.” The managing director of K+S’ Australian arm, Gerrit Gödecke, claimed the decision to abandon the project was “not made for reasons related to environmental management“. “K+S remains confident the Ashburton Salt project could have been developed to be one of the world’s most environmentally sound solar salt projects,” he said. The project being scrapped was pinned on a change in the “worldwide strategic direction” at K+S, which “no longer includes growth in international salt production”. “I am disappointed we did not finish what we started by ultimately taking this project to production, and that the people of Onslow and the Thalanyji People, Traditional Owners of the Ashburton Salt site, will not realise the significant benefits the project would have brought,” Mr Gödecke said.