Broad agreement to remove smelter waste

The end is in sight for thousands of tonnes of unwanted ouvea premix stored in Southland buildings.

A $4 million funding package has been broadly agreed to that will see the removal of ouvea premix from four sites in Southland, says Gore District Council chief executive Stephen Parry.

The announcement comes after weeks of delicate negotiations between New Zealand Aluminium Smelters which operates the Tiwai Point smelter in Southland, the Crown, local authorities in Southland and the landlords of sites where the premix is stored.

There are about 22,000 tonnes of premix in Southland, located at the former paper mill in Mataura, and at sites at Awarua and Invercargill.

The ouvea premix, which is an oxide residue that is a waste byproduct of the aluminium making process, was owned by Taha Asia Pacific, which went into liquidation in 2016.

In December 2017, the liquidators formally disclaimed the premix, leaving its disposal to interested parties, including central and local government and the landlords of the storage sites.

In making the funding announcement on Monday morning, Parry acknowledged the constructive attitude of all participants in what has been ‘‘a challenging negotiation process’’.

Processed overseas

Details of the agreement and process for the removal of the premix have yet to be finalised but he confirmed the product would be processed overseas.

The largest single contribution to the $4 million package would come from New Zealand Aluminium Smelters, Parry said.

The company and Government combined would cover 75 per cent of costs with southern councils and landlords paying the remainder.

Parry said the contribution of each council – Gore District, Southland District, Invercargill City and Environment Southland – had yet to be ratified.

Gore District Mayor Tracy Hicks said he was confident the councils would be able to reach an agreement on costs relatively quickly.

Hicks congratulated Parry on his ‘‘commitment and skills’’ at negotiating a funding solution, as did New Zealand Aluminium Smelters general manager Gretta Stephens.

‘‘While we are still working to finalise the arrangements for implementing this solution, my team and I are proud to continue working with the Southland community to solve the unfortunate situation left behind by Taha,’’ she said.

Property owners’ spokesperson Michael Laws said landlords had suffered a loss of over $1.2m from the Taha liquidation.

They were appreciative of the contribution of all the parties to the settlement, including Parry.