Miner’s Monthly: November 2022

WorkSafe workshop fast approaching

Minerals West Coast’s WorkSafe alluvial gold mining and quarrying regulations workshop is being held in Hokitika on Tuesday the 13th of December from 1:00pm-5:00pm.

Mine managers and Certificate of Competence holders still have time to register if they haven’t done so already.

The workshop is being held to give mine owners and managers a chance to get up to speed with the implications of alluvial gold mines and quarries being brought into the mining and quarrying regulations of the Health and Safety at Work Act 2015 as of June this year.

The workshop will include a visit to a nearby alluvial gold mine as well as a presentations from WorkSafe followed by question and answer sessions.

Full details and registration information are available below.

Mining on conservation land discussed on TVNZ Breakfast

In early November Forest and Bird, along with other organisations, wrote an open letter to the prime minister, Jacinda Ardern, urging for the government to implement a ban on new mines on conservation land. The letter can be found in full here.

About the same time, TVNZ Breakfast interviewed Forest and Bird spokesperson, George Hobson, who argued the government should ban all new mining operations on public conservation land. The following week, TVNZ Breakfast also spoke with Minerals West Coast’s manager, Patrick Phelps, who disputed some of the claims made by Forest and Bird, and argued why miners should retain the right to apply for access to public conservation land.

Both interviews can be found below.

Talking mining on conservation land on RNZ Nights

Every ten weeks Minerals West Coast’s manager, Patrick Phelps, speaks on RNZ Nights as one of the show’s regular weekly pundits.

Given the recent advocacy from the likes of Forest and Bird and others against mining on conservation land, the opportunity was used to explain the processes miners need to go through to access public conservation land, and the potential benefits to the conservation estate.

Longs-standing host of the show, Bryan Crump, moved on from the role recently and has since been replaced by Karen Hay.

The full interview can be heard below.

Minerals West Coast launches social media push promoting conservation land access

In addition to recent comments, Minerals West Coast has taken to online platforms such as YouTubeFacebookTikTok, and LinkedIn to raise public awareness of the issues relating to mining on public conservation land, with plans to launch on other platforms such as Instagram and Twitter in the near future.

So far the video has been viewed over 150,000 times across various platforms, and can be found in full below:

Save the date for Minerals West Coast’s 2023 forum

Minerals West Coast is planning to hold next year’s forum in mid-March – save the dates for the 14th and 15th of March (Tuesday and Wednesday) 2023 in Westport.

The event will likely be held in tandem with AusIMM’s New Zealand branch

Information on ticket prices, a full line-up of speakers, and an itinerary will be circulated as soon as such details are confirmed.

Minerals West Coast submission on Te Tai Poutini Plan (One District Plan)

On the 11th of November Minerals West Coast lodged its submission on Te Tai Poutini Plan, which will serve as a combined plan for the Buller District, Grey District, Westland District, and West Coast Regional Councils.

Minerals West Coast’s full submission can be downloaded or read here.