Saddleback Plantation Forestry Project (Revoked)

Saddleback Plantation Forestry Project (Revoked) was a plantation forestry project located within the operational footprint of the Boddington Gold Mine, approximately 16km northwest of the town of Boddington in the Peel region of Western Australia. Registered in May 2018, the project covered a significant area of roughly 758 hectares. The project was situated in a region heavily utilized for resource extraction, specifically gold and copper mining, as well as state forestry and broadacre agriculture.

The project operated under the Carbon Credits (Carbon Farming Initiative, Plantation Forestry) Methodology Determination 2017. This methodology credits the removal of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere by establishing and maintaining new plantation forests or converting short-rotation plantations to long-rotation. A key feature of this methodology is that it allows for the commercial harvesting of wood products, provided the carbon stock is managed and accounted for over time. In this specific instance, the project involved establishing a new plantation forest intended for commercial harvest.

Environmentally, the Boddington area is situated on the Darling Plateau, characterized by a Mediterranean climate with cool, wet winters and warm, dry summers. The region typically receives moderate rainfall, historically averaging around 600mm to 800mm, although it has experienced a drying trend in recent decades. The local soil profiles are dominated by lateritic gravels and duricrust on the ridges, with clay-loams and sandy soils found in the valley floors. These conditions naturally support Jarrah-Marri forest ecosystems, making the land highly suitable for forestry operations.

A notable aspect of this project is its proponent, Newmont Goldcorp Boddington Pty Ltd, which operates one of Australia's largest gold mines at the same location. The project was voluntarily revoked in November 2022 under section 30 of the CFI Rule. Registry notes indicate that the project successfully completed its Carbon Abatement Contract (CAC436762) prior to revocation. This suggests the project fulfilled its specific delivery obligations to the Australian Government before the proponent elected to withdraw it from the scheme, potentially to align with internal mine-site rehabilitation or land-management strategies without the ongoing reporting requirements of the ACCU scheme.