Plan to mine sand opposed
Residents of a West Coast community are concerned a proposed sand mine will destroy a wildlife hot spot and significantly increase heavy traffic on a spectacular scenic drive.
Barrytown locals are calling for the West Coast Regional Council and the Grey District Council to allow public consultation on a proposal to mine 5000 tonnes of heavy mineral concentrate from
115 hectares of private farmland every week. The land is on the Coast Road tourist drive (State Highway 6), between Greymouth and Punakaiki.
The plan includes up to four truck movements an hour – up to 200 trucks a week – through Punakaiki, the village famous for its limestone pancake rocks.
The application says material would be processed at the site 24 hours a day and the mine would create up to 80 jobs and pay
$1 million in tax a year.
The Coast Road has been named by Lonely Planet as one of the top 10 coastal drives in the world but has several pinchpoints where trucks have to cross the centre line to get around steep bends. It has also been down to one lane at the site of a huge slip at Meybille Bay since 2016.
Barrytown JV Ltd, which is mostly Australian-owned, wants to mine minerals including gold, garnet and titanium and truck them to Westport for export. The land that will be mined borders the Paparoa National Park and the Tasman Sea.
The councils have not yet decided whether to publicly notify the application.
Barrytown JV Ltd argued public notification was not needed because the effects would be minor.
Steven Martin, who runs knifemaking workshops for tourists in Barrytown, said residents were frustrated with the lack of consultation.
‘‘I am not anti-mining . . . but there are so many unknowns. I am concerned about how it will affect the environment, the wildlife and the tourism industry here.’’
He was concerned the mining activity would exacerbate coastal erosion and affect the habitats of white heron, spoonbills and the westland petrel.
Westland Petrel Conservation Trust chairman and Coast Road resident Bruce Stuart-Menteath said the fledgling birds would crash-land if they became disorientated by lights from the processing plant, which would be operating all night.
Sophie Allan, from Golden Sands Horse and Wagon Tours, which operates on Barrytown Beach, said she wanted the council to consider the community’s views.
Local businesses relied on the area’s ‘‘pristine and special nature’’.
A letter to the Grey District Council from the company’s consultants said uranium deposits in the heavy mineral concentrate had been confirmed as ‘‘mildly radioactive’’ but were nowhere near the level required for any regulations to apply.
The company also said the mine’s effects on the westland petrel would be low and lighting would be limited at night.
The proposal included a new vehicle crossing on the state highway, which had been approved by NZTA. The 15-year consent, if approved, would allow Barrytown JV Ltd to divert Collins Creek, take water and groundwater, discharge treated mine water to land and into Collins and Canoe creeks, and discharge dust to air.
It would reduce the volume of land by up to 25 per cent. The area includes part of a wetland and potential significant natural area. The company’s application said it would rehabilitate the land, plant buffers along creeks, and mitigate noise and visual effects.