Albemarle reveals proposed workers camp near Binningup scrapped due to “difficult” timeline

Global lithium giant Albemarle has scrapped plans to build a 500-bed workers accommodation camp in the South West beach-side haven of Binningup, the company blaming a “difficult” time frame for ditching the proposal.

The Binningup community and the Shire of Harvey had voiced strong opposition to the proposed camp, despite the camp getting approvals from the Regional Joint Development Assessment Panel in October last year.

Albemarle Australia on Monday announced it would no longer pursue plans for the Binningup camp, instead focusing on its $126 million Paris Grove development in Australind.

In a statement, the company said the finalisation of development conditions for the proposal had resulted in a “difficult” timeframe for the project if it was to meet Albemarle’s needs.

The company’s country manager Beverley East said the development of high-quality accommodation for construction workers remained critical to the success of the recently announced expansion of the Kemerton lithium processing plant.

“We wish to thank those people who supported our Binningup proposal,” she said.

“We are pleased also that Albemarle’s Paris Grove proposal for a workforce accommodation precinct at Australind was recently approved and we are close to beginning construction.

“Paris Grove is a longer-term development and is designed to bring many benefits to the local community including employment and business opportunities.”

As late as April, the company was commenting “no decision” had been made on the future of the Binningup proposal.

As part of the project’s conditions, Albemarle would have been required to connect the camp to a reticulated sewerage system, a move which was estimated to create a potential additional cost to Albemarle of between $7 million and $10m.

In December, Ms East said the company was seeking to resolve an issue in relation to that condition.

The $126 million Australind development will still go ahead as planned and will initially consist of a mixture of workforce villas and a “small number” of homes, before gradually being transformed into a normal residential housing estate for company staff.

Ms East said Albemarle was “committed” to developing sustainable workforce accommodation solutions to reduce added stress on the region’s housing and accommodation markets.