Southern Cross Yilgarn South Carbon Project

Southern Cross Yilgarn South Carbon Project is a plantation forestry project located approximately 15 to 20 kilometres south of Southern Cross in the Yilgarn Shire of Western Australia's Wheatbelt region. It was registered in October 2025 and covers a vast 6,484.14 hectares.

Plantation forestry projects under the 2022 methodology involve establishing and maintaining a new plantation forest on land that has not recently held one, or changing the management of an existing plantation to store more carbon. Unlike permanent environmental plantings, this methodology allows for the commercial harvesting of wood products, generating Australian Carbon Credit Units (ACCUs) for both the carbon sequestered in the living trees as they grow and the carbon stored in the harvested timber.

The Southern Cross area, sitting on the transition between the eastern Wheatbelt and the Goldfields, is traditionally known for broadacre mixed farming, including wheat cropping and sheep grazing, alongside nearby mining operations. The region experiences a semi-arid, Mediterranean climate with hot, dry summers and low annual rainfall averaging around 250mm to 300mm. Soils in this region are typically characterized by sandy duplexes, red and brown loamy earths, and ironstone gravels.

This specific project is designed around an innovative agroforestry model. Managed by Outback Carbon, which operates under Mitsui E&P Australia (MEPAU), the project involves planting approximately 1.8 million native, locally adapted trees such as Eucalyptus salubris (Gimlet) and Eucalyptus salmonophloia (Salmon Gum) in twin rows alongside established perennials. The planting design aims to achieve a 20% canopy cover by the time of commercial harvest, deliberately leaving 70% to 80% of the land viable for continued agricultural use such as livestock pasture or cropping.