Newmont Australia Reforestation Project

Newmont Australia Reforestation Project is a reforestation and afforestation project situated in the Parkes Local Government Area, approximately 350km west-northwest of Sydney in New South Wales. It was registered in May 2013. While the exact project area is undisclosed, the surrounding region is highly regarded for its agricultural productivity, with general land use primarily focused on mixed farming such as wheat cropping and sheep grazing.

Reforestation and afforestation projects involve establishing permanent plantings of native trees that have the potential to reach at least two metres in height and provide at least 20% crown cover. As the trees grow, they sequester carbon dioxide from the atmosphere into their biomass. This specific project established permanent plantings of Eucalyptus polybractea (commonly known as Blue Mallee) on land that was previously cleared and used for agricultural purposes. Unlike modelled projects, this project calculates its carbon abatement by directly measuring trees in sample plots.

The Parkes region generally experiences a moderate, semi-arid to sub-humid climate with fairly uniform rainfall throughout the year. The environmental conditions are supported by local soil types that typically include red-brown earths, clay loams, and sandy loams, profiles that provide excellent growing conditions for hardy, deep-rooted native Mallee eucalypts.

An interesting milestone for this project is that it was one of the very first forestry projects to be issued carbon credits under the Carbon Farming Initiative, receiving its initial credits on 3 June 2013. CO2 Australia originally established the plantings for Newmont as their project agent, expanding the plantings significantly in the early years of development. Additionally, in January 2020, the project proponent was updated from Newmont Australia Pty Ltd to Newmont Goldcorp Australia Pty Ltd reflecting corporate acquisitions within the mining group.