Mining in New Zealand
Encyclopedia
Mining
in New Zealand
began when the indigenous Māori quarried rock such as argillite
in times prior to European colonisation. Mining by Europeans began in the latter half of the 19th century.
New Zealand has abundant resources of coal
, silver
, iron ore, limestone
and gold
. It ranked 22 in the world in terms of iron ore production and 29th in gold production. The total value of mineral
production in New Zealand was $1.5 billion in 2006 (excluding oil and gas). The most important metallic minerals produced are gold (10.62 tonnes), silver (27.2 tonnes) and titanomagnetite ironsand
(2.15 million tonnes).
A 2008 report estimated that the unexploited resources of just seven core minerals (including gold, copper, iron and molybdenum
) totalled around $140 billion in worth.
The resource sector makes a significant contribution to the New Zealand economy. Oil, gas, coal, gold, aggregates and other minerals contributed NZ$2.149 billion to GDP in 2008, compared to the wine industry ($454 million), and tourism ($6.660 billion). Resource exports in 2009 earned $3.6 billion (8.2% of total goods exports) while dairy in that year was $10 billion, and overseas tourism, $9.3 billion. In 2009 there were 6800 people employed directly in mining, and 8000 people, indirectly, flowing from the economic activity of the 6800. The median wage for a mining employee was $57,320 in 2008, compared to the New Zealand median of $33,530.
In 2010 it was estimated that 0.016% of New Zealand's land area, or 4000 hectares, was used by the mining industry, mostly for quarries producing mostly aggregate for roading and construction.
The latter decades of the 20th century and into the 21st century saw opposition to mining on environmental grounds. The Crown Minerals Act 1991
is a major piece of legislation relating to mining, and a review of Schedule 4 of the Act provoked considerable controversy late in the first decade of the 2000s.
, Taranaki, West Coast
, Otago
and Southland
. Over 80% of the reserves are in Southland lignite
deposits worth $100 billion. Coal is produced from four underground and 21 opencast mines. The largest coal mining company is Solid Energy
, a state-owned enterprise
.
Prospectors discovered gold in the Coromandel in 1852, sparking the Otago Gold Rush and the West Coast Gold Rush
in the 1860s. Gold worth $250M in 2006 was produced from two large hard-rock mines (Martha Mine
and Macraes Mine
), several medium sized alluvial operations, and a large number of small alluvial mines.
include acid mine drainage
and large scale modifications to landscapes. Acid mine drainage from coal mining is a serious problem in New Zealand. It is estimated to adversely affect 125 kilometres of streams mainly in the Buller area of the West Coast of the South Island. However, there has been very little remediation of acid mine drainage.
The Tui mine
in the Kaimai Range which closed in 1973 is considered one of the worst toxic waste sites in New Zealand and the government has allocated almost $10 million for cleaning up the site. Structural failure of historic underground mine workings have led to subsidence, cracking and collapse on properties in Waihi
, a township that has built up around the current open pit. The Stockton Mine
on the West Coast of the South Island
, has historically been responsible for acid mine drainage in adjoining waterways, and has since built a comprehensive water treatment plant on the Stockton plateau. Stockton poses a threat to some native species, although has carried out significant biodiversity conservation work in the region, and mountaintop removal mining has happened on the site in recent years. Over a one hundred year period Mount Smart
in Auckland was mined to such an extent that it is now level with the surrounding land. Several other Auckland volcanoes
have suffered a similar fate.
In 2011 arsenic laden soil was discovered in the suburb of Moanataiari in Thames
. The area had been reclaimed from the Firth of Thames
using mine tailings, mine waste and rubble. Funding from the government was given towards the cost of soil testing.
is attracting funding in the billions of dollars as part of global efforts to address greenhouse gas emissions
. CCS may well have a vital role to play in the portfolio of technologies to be deployed. The New Zealand Government and industry are working with Australia on research to support commercial-scale CCS. However, in the New Zealand context, University of Canterbury
researchers authored a 2009 paper on CCS published in the peer-reviewed journal Energy Policy. The paper considered the permanence of CO2 storage was uncertain and that CCS was unlikely to significantly reduce carbon emissions. The paper concluded that further investment in CCS was seriously questionable as a policy.
Coal Seam Gas (CSG) is a form of natural gas
occurring naturally in deep coal seams that could potentially add to New Zealand’s gas supply. Solid Energy New Zealand
has been trialling CSG extraction at the Waikato coal fields, for use in electricity generation.
Deep-sea metallic mineral deposits in the Kermadec volcanic arc
are attracting research into how they are formed and how they influence the surrounding undersea biodiversity
. Mineral-rich fluids coming out of seafloor hot springs
contact cold sea water and precipitate out high-grade ore deposits containing gold, copper, lead, zinc, iron, manganese and other metals. In one sense, these are renewable resource
s because they are constantly being formed. Discovering these deposits is one matter; mining them in an economic and environmentally appropriate way is another. Extraction of these resources is viewed as a long-term prospect. A proposal for the protection of part of the Kermadec volcanoes is being developed by the Pew Environmental Group.
Geothermal energy is experiencing a renaissance in New Zealand
. This renewable source of energy could contribute to 20% of New Zealand’s electricity needs after the next decade. Current research led by the GNS Science
and the University of Auckland
is tipped to enable cheaper geothermal energy, and identify new systems in the Central North Island for development.
Ironsands offshore of New Zealand from Northland south to Whanganui, and off the South Island’s West Coast is estimated to hold some billions of tonnes of titanomagnetite resource. Titanium and vanadium are the main by-products. The resource is in the stage of being prospected and explored, and assessed for its economic potential.
Low-temperature geothermal energy can be used potentially for space heating, hot pools, heat pumps in the home, heating greenhouses and aquaculture. The heat may be sourced from hot spring systems, disused petroleum wells, heated waters in flooded underground coal and mineral mines, heat in underground aquifers, and heat in rocks. Research in this field in New Zealand is led by GNS Science.
Methane hydrates (fire ice)
are a crystalline form of methane trapped in water, occurring in deep-water continental shelf
sediments in many parts of the world, including New Zealand. This resource may furnish a future source of natural gas. Work is underway in New Zealand to determine economically viable deposits, and technologies for safe extraction. In New Zealand, methane hydrates are found in shallower waters than elsewhere in the world.
Underground coal gasification (UCG)
is a way of accessing energy from coal deposits that lie too deep underground or are too dangerous to be mined or are otherwise uneconomic. Air, oxygen or steam is injected at high temperatures, to burn the coal underground. Separate wells are drilled to capture the resulting “coal gas” which is in essence a form of natural gas. When combined with CCS, this offers a low-emissions route to generating electricity from coal.
The Coromandel Watchdog
lobby group has been active in lobbying against gold mining on the Coromandel Peninsula
since the 1970s. It has recently begun to work against proposals to restart mining in some areas of the Coromandel which have been off-limits to mining for a long time, and has argued that any claim of "surgical" mining operations being possible is farcical, when one realises that even for such mining, roads would have to be built into the areas, ore processing plants constructed, as well as tailings
and chemical byproducts of the ore separation process disposed off.
Sand mining from both beaches and the seabed has encountered opposition. Kiwis Against Seabed Mining, an environmental lobby group, formed when plans were revealed for the mining of the seabed off the West Coast of the North Island.
There are numerous coal mines on the West Coast
of the South Island. The Cypress Mine
, planned for the Westport
area, is opposed by the Save Happy Valley Coalition due to effects on landscape values, biodiversity
and climate change.
A speech by the Minister for Economic Development Gerry Brownlee
to the Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy in August 2009 provoked a reaction from environmental groups. In the speech Brownlee announced a review of Schedule 4 of the Crown Minerals Act
. The Schedule lists conservation land such as national park
s and reserves as off-limits to mining.
A key focus for the NZ resource sector is to promote mature, well-informed debate on mineral and energy issues. Straterra believes that properly managed and encouraged the NZ resource sector can make a significant contribution to the New Zealand economy, and can be managed in environmentally responsible ways, with the passing of the Resource Management Act and the Crown Minerals Act
in 1991.
The largest-scale accidents are:
Mining
Mining is the extraction of valuable minerals or other geological materials from the earth, from an ore body, vein or seam. The term also includes the removal of soil. Materials recovered by mining include base metals, precious metals, iron, uranium, coal, diamonds, limestone, oil shale, rock...
in New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
began when the indigenous Māori quarried rock such as argillite
Argillite
An argillite is a fine-grained sedimentary rock composed predominantly of indurated clay particles. Argillaceous rocks are basically lithified muds and oozes. They contain variable amounts of silt-sized particles. The argillites grade into shale when the fissile layering typical of shale is...
in times prior to European colonisation. Mining by Europeans began in the latter half of the 19th century.
New Zealand has abundant resources of coal
Coal
Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock usually occurring in rock strata in layers or veins called coal beds or coal seams. The harder forms, such as anthracite coal, can be regarded as metamorphic rock because of later exposure to elevated temperature and pressure...
, silver
Silver
Silver is a metallic chemical element with the chemical symbol Ag and atomic number 47. A soft, white, lustrous transition metal, it has the highest electrical conductivity of any element and the highest thermal conductivity of any metal...
, iron ore, limestone
Limestone
Limestone is a sedimentary rock composed largely of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of calcium carbonate . Many limestones are composed from skeletal fragments of marine organisms such as coral or foraminifera....
and gold
Gold
Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au and an atomic number of 79. Gold is a dense, soft, shiny, malleable and ductile metal. Pure gold has a bright yellow color and luster traditionally considered attractive, which it maintains without oxidizing in air or water. Chemically, gold is a...
. It ranked 22 in the world in terms of iron ore production and 29th in gold production. The total value of mineral
Mineral
A mineral is a naturally occurring solid chemical substance formed through biogeochemical processes, having characteristic chemical composition, highly ordered atomic structure, and specific physical properties. By comparison, a rock is an aggregate of minerals and/or mineraloids and does not...
production in New Zealand was $1.5 billion in 2006 (excluding oil and gas). The most important metallic minerals produced are gold (10.62 tonnes), silver (27.2 tonnes) and titanomagnetite ironsand
Ironsand
Ironsand is a type of sand with heavy concentrations of the metal iron. It is typically dark grey or blackish in colour.It comprises mainly magnetite, Fe3O4, and as such is attracted to magnets....
(2.15 million tonnes).
A 2008 report estimated that the unexploited resources of just seven core minerals (including gold, copper, iron and molybdenum
Molybdenum
Molybdenum , is a Group 6 chemical element with the symbol Mo and atomic number 42. The name is from Neo-Latin Molybdaenum, from Ancient Greek , meaning lead, itself proposed as a loanword from Anatolian Luvian and Lydian languages, since its ores were confused with lead ores...
) totalled around $140 billion in worth.
The resource sector makes a significant contribution to the New Zealand economy. Oil, gas, coal, gold, aggregates and other minerals contributed NZ$2.149 billion to GDP in 2008, compared to the wine industry ($454 million), and tourism ($6.660 billion). Resource exports in 2009 earned $3.6 billion (8.2% of total goods exports) while dairy in that year was $10 billion, and overseas tourism, $9.3 billion. In 2009 there were 6800 people employed directly in mining, and 8000 people, indirectly, flowing from the economic activity of the 6800. The median wage for a mining employee was $57,320 in 2008, compared to the New Zealand median of $33,530.
In 2010 it was estimated that 0.016% of New Zealand's land area, or 4000 hectares, was used by the mining industry, mostly for quarries producing mostly aggregate for roading and construction.
The latter decades of the 20th century and into the 21st century saw opposition to mining on environmental grounds. The Crown Minerals Act 1991
Crown Minerals Act 1991
The Crown Minerals Act is an Act of Parliament passed in 1991 in New Zealand. It controls the management of Crown owed minerals. Potential changes to Schedule 4 of the Act created controversy and opposition in 2010...
is a major piece of legislation relating to mining, and a review of Schedule 4 of the Act provoked considerable controversy late in the first decade of the 2000s.
Coal
Coal mining produced 5.3 millions tonnes of coal in 2010, of which over 2 million tonnes were exported. New Zealand coal reserves are in excess of 15 billion tonnes, mainly in WaikatoWaikato
The Waikato Region is a local government region of the upper North Island of New Zealand. It covers the Waikato, Hauraki, Coromandel Peninsula, the northern King Country, much of the Taupo District, and parts of Rotorua District...
, Taranaki, West Coast
West Coast, New Zealand
The West Coast is one of the administrative regions of New Zealand, located on the west coast of the South Island, and is one of the more remote and most sparsely populated areas of the country. It is made up of three districts: Buller, Grey and Westland...
, Otago
Otago
Otago is a region of New Zealand in the south of the South Island. The region covers an area of approximately making it the country's second largest region. The population of Otago is...
and Southland
Southland Region
Southland is New Zealand's southernmost region and is also a district within that region. It consists mainly of the southwestern portion of the South Island and Stewart Island / Rakiura...
. Over 80% of the reserves are in Southland lignite
Lignite
Lignite, often referred to as brown coal, or Rosebud coal by Northern Pacific Railroad,is a soft brown fuel with characteristics that put it somewhere between coal and peat...
deposits worth $100 billion. Coal is produced from four underground and 21 opencast mines. The largest coal mining company is Solid Energy
Solid Energy
Solid Energy is the largest coal mining company in New Zealand and is a state owned enterprise of the New Zealand Government.The company was formed from the former government department State Coal Mines. It was then established as a state owned enterprise called Coal Corporation in 1987, and...
, a state-owned enterprise
State-Owned Enterprises of New Zealand
State-owned enterprises in New Zealand are registered companies listed under Schedules 1 and 2 of the State-Owned Enterprises Act 1986...
.
Gold
West Coast Gold Rush
The West Coast Gold Rush on the West Coast of New Zealand from 1864 to 1867 populated the area, which up till then had been visited by few Europeans. Gold was found near the Taramakau River in 1864 by two Māori, Ihaia Tainui and Haimona Taukau...
in the 1860s. Gold worth $250M in 2006 was produced from two large hard-rock mines (Martha Mine
Martha Mine
The Martha Mine is a gold mine owned by the Newmont Mining Corporation in the New Zealand town of Waihi.-History:William Nicholl marked out a claim, calling it "Martha" after a family member. Several smaller claims were later merged to form the Martha Company. By 1882 the first battery to break...
and Macraes Mine
Macraes Mine
Macraes Mine, in East Otago is New Zealand's largest gold mine, owned by OceanaGold Corporation, which consists of a large scale opencast mine. It is situated close to the settlement of Macraes Flat....
), several medium sized alluvial operations, and a large number of small alluvial mines.
Ironsands
The Waikato North Head ironsand mine was reported to have produced 1.3 million tonnes of ironsand in 2008. The deposit is estimated to contain more than 150 million tonnes.Environmental issues
Environmental issues with miningEnvironmental issues with mining
The environmental impact of mining includes erosion, formation of sinkholes, loss of biodiversity, and contamination of soil, groundwater and surface water by chemicals from mining processes. In some cases, additional forest logging is done in the vicinity of mines to increase the available room...
include acid mine drainage
Acid mine drainage
Acid mine drainage , or acid rock drainage , refers to the outflow of acidic water from metal mines or coal mines. However, other areas where the earth has been disturbed may also contribute acid rock drainage to the environment...
and large scale modifications to landscapes. Acid mine drainage from coal mining is a serious problem in New Zealand. It is estimated to adversely affect 125 kilometres of streams mainly in the Buller area of the West Coast of the South Island. However, there has been very little remediation of acid mine drainage.
The Tui mine
Tui mine
The Tui mine is an abandoned mine on the western slopes of Mount Te Aroha in the Kaimai Range of New Zealand. It is considered to be the most contaminated site in the country, following the clean up of the former Fruitgrowers Chemical Company site at Mapua, Nelson.-History:In the 1960s, the Tui...
in the Kaimai Range which closed in 1973 is considered one of the worst toxic waste sites in New Zealand and the government has allocated almost $10 million for cleaning up the site. Structural failure of historic underground mine workings have led to subsidence, cracking and collapse on properties in Waihi
Waihi
Waihi is a town in Hauraki District in the North Island of New Zealand, especially notable for its history as a gold mine town. It had a population of 4,503 at the 2006 census....
, a township that has built up around the current open pit. The Stockton Mine
Stockton Mine
Stockton Mine, on the Stockton Coal Field, is New Zealand's largest opencast mining operation. The entrance to the mine is at the former settlement of Stockton....
on the West Coast of the South Island
South Island
The South Island is the larger of the two major islands of New Zealand, the other being the more populous North Island. It is bordered to the north by Cook Strait, to the west by the Tasman Sea, to the south and east by the Pacific Ocean...
, has historically been responsible for acid mine drainage in adjoining waterways, and has since built a comprehensive water treatment plant on the Stockton plateau. Stockton poses a threat to some native species, although has carried out significant biodiversity conservation work in the region, and mountaintop removal mining has happened on the site in recent years. Over a one hundred year period Mount Smart
Mount Smart
Mount Smart is one of the volcanoes in the Auckland Volcanic Field. Quarrying removed almost all of the scoria cone, which was 87 m high . It was the site of a pā and was known as Rarotonga...
in Auckland was mined to such an extent that it is now level with the surrounding land. Several other Auckland volcanoes
Auckland Volcanic Field
The Auckland volcanic field is a monogenetic volcanic field in the North Island of New Zealand. Basaltic in nature, it underlies much of the metropolitan area of Auckland....
have suffered a similar fate.
In 2011 arsenic laden soil was discovered in the suburb of Moanataiari in Thames
Thames, New Zealand
Thames is a town at the southwestern end of the Coromandel Peninsula in New Zealand's North Island. It is located on the Firth of Thames close to the mouth of the Waihou River. The town is the seat of the Thames-Coromandel District Council....
. The area had been reclaimed from the Firth of Thames
Firth of Thames
The Firth of Thames is a large bay located in the north of the North Island of New Zealand. It is the firth of the rivers Waihou and Piako, the former of which was formerly named the Thames River, and the town of Thames lies on its southeastern coast....
using mine tailings, mine waste and rubble. Funding from the government was given towards the cost of soil testing.
New frontiers
Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS)Carbon capture and storage
Carbon capture and storage , alternatively referred to as carbon capture and sequestration, is a technology to prevent large quantities of from being released into the atmosphere from the use of fossil fuel in power generation and other industries. It is often regarded as a means of mitigating...
is attracting funding in the billions of dollars as part of global efforts to address greenhouse gas emissions
Greenhouse gas
A greenhouse gas is a gas in an atmosphere that absorbs and emits radiation within the thermal infrared range. This process is the fundamental cause of the greenhouse effect. The primary greenhouse gases in the Earth's atmosphere are water vapor, carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, and ozone...
. CCS may well have a vital role to play in the portfolio of technologies to be deployed. The New Zealand Government and industry are working with Australia on research to support commercial-scale CCS. However, in the New Zealand context, University of Canterbury
University of Canterbury
The University of Canterbury , New Zealand's second-oldest university, operates its main campus in the suburb of Ilam in the city of Christchurch, New Zealand...
researchers authored a 2009 paper on CCS published in the peer-reviewed journal Energy Policy. The paper considered the permanence of CO2 storage was uncertain and that CCS was unlikely to significantly reduce carbon emissions. The paper concluded that further investment in CCS was seriously questionable as a policy.
Coal Seam Gas (CSG) is a form of natural gas
Natural gas
Natural gas is a naturally occurring gas mixture consisting primarily of methane, typically with 0–20% higher hydrocarbons . It is found associated with other hydrocarbon fuel, in coal beds, as methane clathrates, and is an important fuel source and a major feedstock for fertilizers.Most natural...
occurring naturally in deep coal seams that could potentially add to New Zealand’s gas supply. Solid Energy New Zealand
Solid Energy
Solid Energy is the largest coal mining company in New Zealand and is a state owned enterprise of the New Zealand Government.The company was formed from the former government department State Coal Mines. It was then established as a state owned enterprise called Coal Corporation in 1987, and...
has been trialling CSG extraction at the Waikato coal fields, for use in electricity generation.
Deep-sea metallic mineral deposits in the Kermadec volcanic arc
Kermadec Islands
The Kermadec Islands are a subtropical island arc in the South Pacific Ocean northeast of New Zealand's North Island, and a similar distance southwest of Tonga...
are attracting research into how they are formed and how they influence the surrounding undersea biodiversity
Biodiversity
Biodiversity is the degree of variation of life forms within a given ecosystem, biome, or an entire planet. Biodiversity is a measure of the health of ecosystems. Biodiversity is in part a function of climate. In terrestrial habitats, tropical regions are typically rich whereas polar regions...
. Mineral-rich fluids coming out of seafloor hot springs
Hydrothermal vent
A hydrothermal vent is a fissure in a planet's surface from which geothermally heated water issues. Hydrothermal vents are commonly found near volcanically active places, areas where tectonic plates are moving apart, ocean basins, and hotspots. Hydrothermal vents exist because the earth is both...
contact cold sea water and precipitate out high-grade ore deposits containing gold, copper, lead, zinc, iron, manganese and other metals. In one sense, these are renewable resource
Renewable resource
A renewable resource is a natural resource with the ability of being replaced through biological or other natural processes and replenished with the passage of time...
s because they are constantly being formed. Discovering these deposits is one matter; mining them in an economic and environmentally appropriate way is another. Extraction of these resources is viewed as a long-term prospect. A proposal for the protection of part of the Kermadec volcanoes is being developed by the Pew Environmental Group.
Geothermal energy is experiencing a renaissance in New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
. This renewable source of energy could contribute to 20% of New Zealand’s electricity needs after the next decade. Current research led by the GNS Science
GNS Science
GNS Science is a New Zealand Crown Research Institute. It focuses on geology, geophysics , and nuclear science ....
and the University of Auckland
University of Auckland
The University of Auckland is a university located in Auckland, New Zealand. It is the largest university in the country and the highest ranked in the 2011 QS World University Rankings, having been ranked worldwide...
is tipped to enable cheaper geothermal energy, and identify new systems in the Central North Island for development.
Ironsands offshore of New Zealand from Northland south to Whanganui, and off the South Island’s West Coast is estimated to hold some billions of tonnes of titanomagnetite resource. Titanium and vanadium are the main by-products. The resource is in the stage of being prospected and explored, and assessed for its economic potential.
Low-temperature geothermal energy can be used potentially for space heating, hot pools, heat pumps in the home, heating greenhouses and aquaculture. The heat may be sourced from hot spring systems, disused petroleum wells, heated waters in flooded underground coal and mineral mines, heat in underground aquifers, and heat in rocks. Research in this field in New Zealand is led by GNS Science.
Methane hydrates (fire ice)
Methane clathrate
Methane clathrate, also called methane hydrate, hydromethane, methane ice, "fire ice", natural gas hydrate or just gas hydrate, is a solid clathrate compound in which a large amount of methane is trapped within a crystal structure of water, forming a solid similar to ice...
are a crystalline form of methane trapped in water, occurring in deep-water continental shelf
Continental shelf
The continental shelf is the extended perimeter of each continent and associated coastal plain. Much of the shelf was exposed during glacial periods, but is now submerged under relatively shallow seas and gulfs, and was similarly submerged during other interglacial periods. The continental margin,...
sediments in many parts of the world, including New Zealand. This resource may furnish a future source of natural gas. Work is underway in New Zealand to determine economically viable deposits, and technologies for safe extraction. In New Zealand, methane hydrates are found in shallower waters than elsewhere in the world.
Underground coal gasification (UCG)
Underground Coal Gasification
Underground coal gasification is an industrial process, which converts coal into product gas. UCG is an in-situ gasification process carried out in non-mined coal seams using injection of oxidants, and bringing the product gas to surface through production wells drilled from the surface. The...
is a way of accessing energy from coal deposits that lie too deep underground or are too dangerous to be mined or are otherwise uneconomic. Air, oxygen or steam is injected at high temperatures, to burn the coal underground. Separate wells are drilled to capture the resulting “coal gas” which is in essence a form of natural gas. When combined with CCS, this offers a low-emissions route to generating electricity from coal.
Opposition
Coromandel Watchdog
Coromandel Watchdog is an environmental organisation lobbying in opposition to mining on the Coromandel Peninsula in New Zealand.The Coromandel Peninsula is an area of high scenic values due to the presence of the original forest cover and a coastline that is popular for recreation. Goldmining has...
lobby group has been active in lobbying against gold mining on the Coromandel Peninsula
Coromandel Peninsula
The Coromandel Peninsula lies in the North Island of New Zealand. It is part of the Waikato Region and Thames-Coromandel District and extends 85 kilometres north from the western end of the Bay of Plenty, forming a natural barrier to protect the Hauraki Gulf and the Firth of Thames in the west...
since the 1970s. It has recently begun to work against proposals to restart mining in some areas of the Coromandel which have been off-limits to mining for a long time, and has argued that any claim of "surgical" mining operations being possible is farcical, when one realises that even for such mining, roads would have to be built into the areas, ore processing plants constructed, as well as tailings
Tailings
Tailings, also called mine dumps, slimes, tails, leach residue, or slickens, are the materials left over after the process of separating the valuable fraction from the uneconomic fraction of an ore...
and chemical byproducts of the ore separation process disposed off.
Sand mining from both beaches and the seabed has encountered opposition. Kiwis Against Seabed Mining, an environmental lobby group, formed when plans were revealed for the mining of the seabed off the West Coast of the North Island.
There are numerous coal mines on the West Coast
West Coast, New Zealand
The West Coast is one of the administrative regions of New Zealand, located on the west coast of the South Island, and is one of the more remote and most sparsely populated areas of the country. It is made up of three districts: Buller, Grey and Westland...
of the South Island. The Cypress Mine
Cypress mine
The Cypress mine is a proposed extension to the open cast coal mine the Stockton Mine’s operational area, to the east into the Upper Waimangaroa Mining Permit area, on the West Coast of New Zealand....
, planned for the Westport
Westport, New Zealand
-Economy:Economic activity is based around fishing, coal mining and dairy farming. Historically, gold mining was a major industry, and coal mining was much more extensive than today . However, the region still is home to New Zealand's largest opencast mining operation in Stockton...
area, is opposed by the Save Happy Valley Coalition due to effects on landscape values, biodiversity
Biodiversity
Biodiversity is the degree of variation of life forms within a given ecosystem, biome, or an entire planet. Biodiversity is a measure of the health of ecosystems. Biodiversity is in part a function of climate. In terrestrial habitats, tropical regions are typically rich whereas polar regions...
and climate change.
A speech by the Minister for Economic Development Gerry Brownlee
Gerry Brownlee
Gerard Anthony "Gerry" Brownlee is a New Zealand politician. He served from 17 November 2003 to 27 November 2006 as deputy-leader of the National Party – during that period the second-largest party in the New Zealand Parliament, and thus forming the core of the Opposition...
to the Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy in August 2009 provoked a reaction from environmental groups. In the speech Brownlee announced a review of Schedule 4 of the Crown Minerals Act
Crown Minerals Act 1991
The Crown Minerals Act is an Act of Parliament passed in 1991 in New Zealand. It controls the management of Crown owed minerals. Potential changes to Schedule 4 of the Act created controversy and opposition in 2010...
. The Schedule lists conservation land such as national park
National parks of New Zealand
The national parks of New Zealand are 14 protected areas administered by the Department of Conservation "for the benefit, use, and enjoyment of the public". These are popular tourist destinations, with three-tenths of tourists visiting at least one national park during their stay in New Zealand...
s and reserves as off-limits to mining.
Advocacy for the NZ resource sector
In 2008 a number of mainly gold and coal producing companies in New Zealand set up Straterra, an incorporated society, to provide a collective voice for the NZ resource sector. Staterra's members and affiliates represent 88% of the value of NZ production of all minerals, except oil & gas and geothermal resources. Straterra also works closely with the petroleum sector and has links to the geothermal sector. Straterra participates in government policy processes, carries out government and industry relations, and provides advocacy for the NZ resource sector including via the media.A key focus for the NZ resource sector is to promote mature, well-informed debate on mineral and energy issues. Straterra believes that properly managed and encouraged the NZ resource sector can make a significant contribution to the New Zealand economy, and can be managed in environmentally responsible ways, with the passing of the Resource Management Act and the Crown Minerals Act
Crown Minerals Act 1991
The Crown Minerals Act is an Act of Parliament passed in 1991 in New Zealand. It controls the management of Crown owed minerals. Potential changes to Schedule 4 of the Act created controversy and opposition in 2010...
in 1991.
Accidents
In earlier years, coal mining had a high rate of injuries and death, most of them individual deaths. Between just 1900 and 1914 there were 141 men killed, of which 98 were individual deaths.The largest-scale accidents are:
- 21 February 1879, Kaitangata coal mine disasterKaitangata, New ZealandKaitangata is a town near the coast of South Otago, New Zealand, on the left bank of the Clutha River ten kilometres south east of Balclutha. The town is known to its residents simply as Kai....
, 34 miners died when candles caused an underground explosion - 26 March 1896, Brunner coal mine disasterBrunner Mine disasterAn explosion deep in the Brunner Mine at 9:30am on Thursday 26 March 1896 killed all 65 miners inside, and was the worst mining disaster of New Zealand’s history....
, 65 miners killed by an explosion or by poisonous gases following the explosion. As of 2010 this is New Zealand's largest death toll from an industrial accident. - 12 September 1914, Ralph Mine, HuntlyHuntly, New ZealandHuntly is a town in the Waikato region of the North Island of New Zealand. It is on State Highway 1, 93 kilometres south of Auckland and 35 kilometres north of Hamilton. It is situated on the North Island Main Trunk Railway and straddles the Waikato River.Huntly was called Rahui Pokeka when...
, a naked light caused an explosion that killed 43 coal miners - 3 December 1926, DobsonDobson, New ZealandDobson is a small town on the banks of the Grey River in the South Island of New Zealand. It is 10 kilometres east from the river's mouth at Greymouth. The settlement of Taylorville is across the river from Dobson, but no bridge directly connects the two...
coal mine, nine killed due to an explosion - 24 September 1939, Glen Afton coal mine, Huntly, 11 asphyxiated by carbon monoxide
- 19 January 1967, Strongman coal mineStrongman MineThe Strongman Mine was an underground coal mine north of Greymouth on the West Coast of New Zealand from 1938 to 2003.On 19 January 1967 a gas explosion in the mine killed 19 miners....
, 19 miners killed by explosion - 19 November 2010, Pike River mine accident, 29 dead
Current
- HuntlyHuntly, New ZealandHuntly is a town in the Waikato region of the North Island of New Zealand. It is on State Highway 1, 93 kilometres south of Auckland and 35 kilometres north of Hamilton. It is situated on the North Island Main Trunk Railway and straddles the Waikato River.Huntly was called Rahui Pokeka when...
- RotowaroRotowaroRotowaro was once a small coal mining township approximately 10 km west of Huntly in the Waikato region of New Zealand. The town was built especially for miners houses, but was entirely removed in the 1980s to make way for a large opencast mine.- History :...
- WaihiWaihiWaihi is a town in Hauraki District in the North Island of New Zealand, especially notable for its history as a gold mine town. It had a population of 4,503 at the 2006 census....
- OhaiOhaiOhаi is a town in the Southland Region of New Zealand's South Island. It is located 65 kilometres northwest of Invercargill and 25 kilometres west of Winton. The 2001 New Zealand Census of Population and Dwellings gave its population as 399, a decline of 22.2% or 114 people since the 1996...
- KaitangataKaitangata, New ZealandKaitangata is a town near the coast of South Otago, New Zealand, on the left bank of the Clutha River ten kilometres south east of Balclutha. The town is known to its residents simply as Kai....
Historic
- BrunnerBrunner, New ZealandBrunner is a town in the northwest of New Zealand's South Island. Together with Taylorville and Dobson to the south-west, it had a population of 672 at the 2006 census. It is 12 kilometres to the east of Greymouth, on the south bank of the Grey River. It is on the Midland Line railway near its...
- Denniston
- LawrenceLawrence, New ZealandLawrence is a small town of 474 inhabitants in Otago, in New Zealand's South Island. It is located on State Highway 8, the main route from Dunedin to the inland towns of Queenstown and Alexandra...
- LyellLyell, New ZealandLyell is the site of a historic gold mining town in the Buller Gorge in the South Island of New Zealand. It lies on State Highway 6The location is now a campsite maintained by the Department of Conservation. None of the original buildings remain but a track from the campsite leads to a cemetery and...
- MillertonMillerton, New ZealandMillerton is a small settlement in the northwestern South Island of New Zealand in the West Coast region. It is in the Papahaua Ranges, around 25 kilometres north east of Westport, on SH67 from Westport to Karamea....
- Okarito
- Reefton
- WaiutaWaiutaWaiuta is the location of a historic mining town on the West Coast of the South Island of New Zealand.It was the site of a gold mine until 1951 but the collapse of the mine made it uneconomic. A number of buildings remain and there are still residents in what remains of the town.-External links:**...
External links
- Coal and Coal Mining - Te Ara; The Encyclopedia of New Zealand
- Crown Minerals Group - Ministry of Economic Development
- Ministry of Economic Development - Crown Minerals page
- New Zealand Coal Deposits
- NZMining.info
- Straterra Inc New Zealand resource sector organisation