Mine submission ‘fanciful’
A submission by the Department of Conservation’s director-general raising concerns about a sand mine on the West Coast has been slammed as “unreasonable” and “fanciful” by commissioners.
Commissioners John Maassen, Robert van Voorthuysen and Timothy Vial have granted TiGa Minerals and Metals consents to mine 4.8 million tonnes of minerals like garnet, ilmenite, zircon and gold from 63ha in Barrytown over a 12-year period, to construct a processing plant, and for an average of 50 truck movements per day to go between the site and Greymouth.
DOC’s director-general, Penny Nelson, submitted on the project raising concerns about it producing “dangerous” levels of greenhouse gases, and the effect of the mine on the surrounding waterways, including wetlands, and on New Zealand’s only remaining mainland petrel, the Westland petrel or tāiko.
The commissioners said her submission included “insuperable” and “unreasonable” arguments that were “beyond the boundaries of sensible, prudent precautionary analysis”.
They said Nelson’s arguments “went beyond careful control”, and that TiGa's “estimable conditions”, along with agency and community cooperation to support better monitoring, would better advance the Westland petrel population than declining the application.
“Ngāti Waewae and the applicant tried to promote these practical ideas to the director-general, but to no avail,” they said.
The commissioners rejected her request for a 100m setback from surrounding wetland and coastal lagoon, but imposed a condition to allow only trucking and mining to occur during daylight hours, to reduce the effects of light on the petrel fledglings leaving the nest.
The director-general said any risk of death of even one bird was an unacceptable population level effect that should be avoided. The commissioners said TiGa was likely to enable “more intelligent” interventions to protect Westland petrel than a clumsy decision to decline for no practical or helpful purpose.
The commissioners were also not persuaded that the greenhouse gases generated by the mine were “dangerous”, as submitted by Nelson.
DOC Western South Island operations director Mark Davies responded to questions sent by The Press to Nelson. “The director-general has a responsibility to advocate for nature and in particular, the protection of threatened and at-risk species,” he said.
He said the director-general’s submission was in accordance to a clear legal framework requiring adverse effects on endangered species to be avoided in the coastal environment.
The submission also directly aligned with all the independent expert evidence before the commissioners, and resulted in the proposal being amended to reduce effects on Westland petrel and other endangered fauna, he said.
Meanwhile, the Coast Road Resilience Group, set up to oppose the mine, is calling for new members and will hold a meeting on May 14 to outline the next steps.
Barrytown resident David Morris, whose partner runs tourism horse wagon tours on the beach, said he was disappointed.
“We live in a strange place where councils and the establishment worship holes in the ground rather than people.”
He said he was concerned about the noise of the processing plant, which would operate 24/7, and being able to see it from the beach despite conditions including plantings along the coastal edge and a bund along the road side of the mine. The application also says the mine would “comfortably” comply with permitted district noise levels.
Grey District mayor Tania Gibson said the group’s comments about the majority of the community being gutted were not an accurate representation of the feedback she had been receiving since the decision.
“It will be good for the economy and employment,” she said.
The mine has promised 57 direct and 80 indirect jobs, and to contribute $33.7 million a year to the West Coast economy.
Stephen Roberts, who owns an accommodation business along the trucking route, said he supported the mine. However, he was concerned about traffic management.