We would certainly be much happier if there was no mine there at all, but as far as Alcoa goes, you wouldn't get better people to work with. There are a lot of development pressures, and with Alcoa having the lease it prevents residential or agricultural development. A Steep Learning Curve Established in the late 1960s, Alcoa's coal mine at Anglesea was considered to be progressive by the environmental standards of the time. In the early days, the topsoil was ploughed in with the rest of the backfill. We now treat it like gold.
Top soil contains stores of seed from locally occurring plants and has high nutrient levels.
When an area is rehabilitated the topsoil is returned, resulting in the natural germination of many plants. Some species still have to be raised in the nursery and planted, but topsoil conservation saves a lot of time and money in the long run. We learned a lot from our mistakes in the early days. It was during this period that the relationship between Alcoa and the community started to develop into a partnership. The late Mary White 1 played an important role in encouraging and educating Alcoa personnel in the importance of planting indigenous species, and now of course they are well aware of it.