Jurien Gypsum

Jurien Bay Gypsum is situated within the South West Mineral Field of Western Australia's Wheatbelt coastal corridor, approximately 220 km north of Perth via the Brand Highway and Indian Ocean Drive. This distance creates measurable supply chain latency for consumables, mechanical parts, and specialist labour. The terrain is characterised by low-relief coastal plain with shallow calcrete and aeolian sediment overburden, typical of WA's western coastal gypsum deposits, enabling low strip-ratio open-cut extraction with minimal blasting requirements.

The operation is currently active (Operating status), managed by CSR Ltd through its Gyprock Fibre Cement division — a major downstream consumer of raw gypsum for plasterboard and fibre cement manufacturing. The B2B supply chain is vertically integrated: mined gypsum feeds directly into CSR's WA and eastern-seaboard processing plants. Key operational risks include:

• Remote mechanical downtime — absence of on-site heavy workshops demands pre-positioned spare parts inventory
• Dependence on a single road corridor for all inbound/outbound logistics
• Seasonal coastal wind events impacting haul road dust suppression and loader productivity

Gypsum extraction at Jurien Bay employs open-cut dozing and ripping methodology, given the soft, friable nature of the orebody. Primary crushing and screening circuits reduce run-of-mine material to specification grades for wallboard and agricultural markets. Unlike sulphide operations, there is no flotation circuit; however, purity control (CaSO₄·2H₂O grade) is critical and requires rigorous in-pit grade control sampling. Key infrastructure requirements include:

• Front-end loaders and articulated dump trucks for ROM handling
• Mobile primary jaw or impact crushers
• Screening and stockpile management systems
• Sealed haul roads to minimise product contamination

As a CSR Ltd asset, Jurien Bay Gypsum falls under CSR's corporate ESG and decarbonisation framework, which targets Scope 1 and 2 emissions reductions across its building products portfolio. Gypsum mining carries a comparatively low environmental footprint versus metalliferous operations, but land rehabilitation, native vegetation clearing offsets, and dust and noise management remain active compliance obligations under WA DMP regulations. Opportunities exist for solar-assisted site power and electrification of light mobile equipment to align with CSR's broader net-zero trajectory.