Water security concerns as magnetite miner seeks extension

Farmers protested in 2011 when Karara Mining Limited's water licence was approved. (ABC News: Steve Johns)

Karara Mining Limited is seeking approval from the Environmental Protection Authority to extend its magnetite ore operations in WA's Midwest until 2048.

Mingenew Shire President Hellene McTaggart says there is concern over how the 15-year extension could affect water security.

The Shire of Mingenew has asked the EPA to pause its assessment to better study impacts on groundwater supplies.

The looming extension to the life of a magnetite ore mine has shires in Western Australia's Midwest region concerned over access to a key aquifer.

Controversy has surrounded Karara Mining Limited's operation in the Shire of Perenjori, about 340 kilometres north-east of Perth, since it was approved to draw 92 per cent of local groundwater from a subsection of the Parmelia aquifer when first constructed in 2011.

Now, the neighbouring Mingenew Shire has asked the Environmental Protection Authority (EPA) to pause its assessment on a proposed 15-year extension in order to better understand consequences for water security.

WA's Midwest shires are concerned about the impact the mine extension could have on local groundwater supply. (ABC News: Chris Lewis)

Karara has a licence to draw five of the 5.4 gigalitres available at Mingenew's subsection of the Parmelia aquifer, a potable water resource the local community relies on.

Mingenew Shire president Hellene McTaggart said there was unease when the company was initially approved to access so much groundwater in 2011.

"There was a lot of community concern [as] it's incredibly high-quality water," she said.

"I understand it's one of, if not the only, drinkable groundwater supplies within the area."

Hellene McTaggart says the EPA needs to take into account the community's water security. (ABC News)

Despite its existing licence expiring in 2027, the company gained approval last year to draw a further gigalitre, or 1 billion litres, of groundwater from the Yandanooka bore field until 2035.

She said water licensing could not be "divorced" from the overall environmental impacts, which is why her shire had written to the EPA requesting a pause on its assessment of Karara's mine extension to 2048.

"We understand water licensing is a separate process to this EPA but [groundwater] is such a significant resource and such a huge allocation that we think it cannot be divorced from the overall assessment," she said.

The area has numerous springs fed from an aquifer. (ABC News: Jo Prendergast)

Water security has long been a