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PAKU VIEWS
ISSUE 4 AUTUMN/WINTER 2012
L
et’s say your community fought long
and hard to save sensitive wild lands
from the devastation of gold mining. From
any mining. And when out hiking one day,
you notice puzzling activity. They aren’t
mining exactly, but ... who are they? and
what are they doing? “Just lookin’”!
Lookin’ for what? Oh, well, for gold actually. They, the
mining companies are doing just that. AND, they are
doing it on land that prohibits mining at all!
Gold was discovered on the Coromandel Peninsula in
1852, and mining activity has expanded and contracted,
mostly depending on the price of gold. In 1997,
legislation was passed banning mining in Coromandel
conservation and coastal zones north of the Kopu
Hikuai Road. In 2010, activists experienced an exciting
victory when the goverment backed down from opening
Schedule 4 lands to mining once again. Whew!
But wait. Why is the government now issuing
exploration/prospecting permits to mining companies
in these same protected areas? Coromandel Watchdog
activist Renee Annan gets her growl on, “Despite the
public rejection of mining on the Schedule 4 land in
2010, the mining industry is getting very positive signals
from the government and exploring all over
the Coromandel”.
Here are some of the areas affected so far, Annan points
out: “...permits granted over all of Southern Coromandel
including behind Onemana, Opoutere and conservation
land behind Whangamata. Permits have been granted in
the Kauaeranga Valley, the Firth of Thames and a very
large area stretching from Kopu to near Paeroa”.
“Much of this land is critical habitat for endangered
species”, Annan says. The area where core drilling has
already been noticed is the high-value conservation land
in the Parakiwai Valley near Whangamata”.
The most significant permit granted in Northern
Coromandel is for prospecting over a large area from
Kuaotunu, Whitianga, Hahei, Whenuakite and down to
near Tairua. The two year permit is owned by the same
company (Newmont Gold) currently operating in Waihi,
and includes minimum impact activities such as soil
sampling and geophysical surveying. The permit covers
activities over a variety of private land, crown land and
conservation estate (all conservation land within the
permit is in Schedule 4).
Annan says her Watchdogs have the support of Green
MP Catherine Delahunty, and have already held several
public meetings. Other watchdog groups in Mercury Bay
and Kuaotunu, as well as Coromandel and Whangamata
have also become active again. “It doesn’t take many
braincells to figure out that once the mining companies
prospecting efforts hit pay dirt, they will lobby for
legislation to mine for real”.
Environmental exploitation on
the Coromandel...
yet again!
“The Coromandel is too precious to mine”.
Renee Annan,
activist
Coromandel Watchdog of Hauraki
Schedule 4
of the Crown Minerals Act identifies
conservation land, which, due to its high conservation
values, should be excluded from the possibility of being
mined. This land includes national parks, nature reserves
and scientific reserves–land considered to be core
conservation land. About 40% of the conservation estate
(13% of New Zealand’s landmass) is in Schedule 4.
Reversing environmental harm.
Rehabilitation by
replanting mined land can help, but hese methods cannot
completely replicate the original vegetation and habitat.
The impact of mining on water quality can be reduced by
stricter controls, but is very difficult to completely avoid
impact and breaches are inevitable. Due to high rainfall,
it is especially vulnerable to contamination of waterways
from mines.
Environmental damage.
When the mining companies
don’t or can’t pay, the Government (and taxpayers) are left
to deal with the environmental impact of the mines, which
can be very expensive. For example, taxpayers are paying
$10 million to clean up the damage left behind at the Tui
Mine in Te Aroha.
Typical mining toxins.
One average-sized underground
gold mine typically produces around 1,000,000 m³ of
highly toxic waste (tailings) containing copper, lead, zinc,
cadmium, and arsenic. Newmont Gold’s tailings dam at
Waihi contains 40,000,000 m³ of hazardous waste from its
open cast gold mine.
Economic Impact.
Earnings from minerals make up just
3% of NZ’s wealth; earnings from our conservation lands
make up 20% of our wealth. Jobs are created in mining,
but more jobs are created by the scenic draw of the
unspoiled landscape. In 2008, mining jobs totalled 5,800
while direct tourist jobs totaled 108,000, not counting
those employed in support businesses.
If mining companies lose money—and many do—they
write off losses on taxes...made up by taxpayers.
Learn more.
Visi
r
contact Renee Annan on 0220181764.
Email
or a history of gold
More about Mining
Anti-mining Watchdogs back on guard to prevent mining of protected lands.
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Map showing areas threatened by mining exploration.