Company wants to mine two million cubic metres of sand off Pakiri

An Auckland company has applied to mine two million cubic metres of sand off the coast of Pakiri and Te Arai.

Kaipara Ltd is seeking a 20-year resource consent from Auckland Council to replace its sand mining consent, which expires in 2023.

The application follows news another company, McCallum Brothers, is also seeking to renew its sand mining consent in an area closer to the shore, sparking concern from local environmental groups who say the practice is having a detrimental impact on the coast.

Kaipara Ltd’s current consent allowed it to mine two million cubic metres of sand over 20 years since 2003, but from within the outer Hauraki Gulf, in the vicinity of Pakiri and Little Barrier Island, covering 646 square kilometres.

The new application would confine the sand mining to a much smaller area, covering 44sq km, between 1.2km and 2km from the beach and at depths from 25m to 40m.

Extraction rates would be limited to 150,000cu m a year.

The sand in the area would be extracted on to a barge, before being offloaded in Auckland and used mainly for making concrete. Sand has been mined from the area for nearly 100 years for Auckland construction projects.

McCallum Bros also holds a consent to mine sand in the area. A 14-year consent to mine 76,000cu m granted in 2006, but closer to the shore and at depths of 5m to 10m. That consent expires this month.

Community group Save Te Arai spokesman Aaron McConchie said they were opposed to both Kaipara Ltd’s current application, and the plans presented by McCullum Bros.

He said the Pakiri coast had a “closed loop system”, and studies showed the sand did not replenish once taken.

“We see dredges out there on an almost daily basis, coming to this beautiful part of the county to take more and more. It is very concerning.”

Sand mining in the area is also opposed by Friends of Pakiri and the Surfbreak Protection Society.