Southern Cross Yilgarn North Carbon Project

Southern Cross Yilgarn North Carbon Project is a plantation forestry project located approximately 35km northwest of the town of Southern Cross in the Shire of Yilgarn, Western Australia. It was registered in May 2025 and covers a vast area of 9,294.92 hectares.

Plantation forestry projects sequester carbon by establishing and maintaining new forest plantations designed for the commercial harvesting of wood products. The methodology requires adherence to standard management practices, such as maintaining specific tree stocking densities, managing harvest rotation cycles, and applying targeted silvicultural practices to balance ongoing carbon abatement with commercial timber yields.

The Shire of Yilgarn and the surrounding Eastern Wheatbelt region are well-known for dryland broadacre cropping, such as cereals, oilseeds, and legumes, and mixed sheep and cattle grazing. The region experiences a semi-arid climate with low annual rainfall, typically receiving around 300mm. Situated on the ancient Yilgarn Craton, the local soils generally consist of calcareous loamy earths, pale shallow sands over granite, and alkaline sandy duplexes.

This project forms a core part of a major collaborative carbon farming initiative by Outback Carbon, a joint venture subsidiary of Mitsui. In 2025, the company marked a major milestone by commencing the planting of approximately 1.8 million native, drought-resistant trees across the region, heavily featuring Gimlet (Eucalyptus salubris) and Salmon Gum (Eucalyptus salmonophloia). Innovatively, the plantation model is designed to reach a 20% canopy cover target by the time of harvest, which facilitates the retention of 70–80% of the land for traditional agricultural grazing and cropping. A variation to the project registration was recorded on 1 May 2026, officially adding Growth Carbon Pty Ltd as a joint proponent alongside Outback Carbon.