MINER'S MONTHLY: MARCH 2023

West Coast Minerals Forum 2023

Minerals West Coast's forum is set to be held in Westport on the 17th of May 2023.

The lineup of speakers and presentations will allow attendants to hear from the likes of Westland Mineral Sands and TiGa (formerly Barrytown JV), both of whom are in the process of developing and commercialising the West Coast's mineral sand resources (containing minerals such as ilmenite and garnet) for extraction and export.

Attendants will also be able to hear the latest from various miners in the process of exploration and mine establishment in the Reefton gold field, such as Terra Firma Mining, Siren Gold, Reefton Gold, and Federation Mining, which is working to re-establish gold extraction from the Birthday Reef beneath Waiuta via its Snowy River mine site. 

For all forum information including the full itinerary and ticket purchasing details please visit the event page on Minerals West Coast's website by clicking here.

No new mines on conservation land

The government remains unclear in relation to its stance on new mines on public conservation land. This almost six years on from the commitment to "no new mines on conservation land" first being made in the governor general’s 2017 speech from the throne following the 2017 general election.

In February it emerged that the government may be considering implementing the ban this year, with confirmation from a government spokesperson to media such as the Greymouth Star and 1News that policy options were being progressed through cabinet and that a bill was being drafted.

Speaking to 1News on the 5th of February, both the then newly sworn in prime minister Chris Hipkins and newly sworn in conservation minister, Willow Jean-Prime gave no confirmation as to when any such policy would be finalised. Minerals West Coast's manager, Patrick Phelps, also spoke in the 1News story, which can be viewed below, or on 1News's website by clicking here.

Conservation minister, Willow Jean-Prime, spoke of the issue again recently in a Stuff article titled Pounamu slows Labour's ban on mining on conservation land, in which she gave no commitments to implementing any such ban prior to the 2023 general election. simply saying that "significant policy work is ongoing", and that "final decisions on any bill have not been taken".

Minerals West Coast will continue to advocate for miners being able to apply for access to public conservation land.

An online campaign by way of a video (see below) backed up with supporting information on Minerals West Coast's website was carried out in late 2022 and early 2023, and accrued a total of 1.6 million views across social media platforms such as YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok.

More work of this nature will be carried out over the course of 2023. 

Submissions on changes to Crown Minerals Act and Resource Management Act

Minerals West Coast has submitted on two separate pieces of policy consultation in recent months.

The first of which is the Crown Minerals Amendment Bill, which seeks to make some small but potentially significant changes to the Crown Minerals Act. Minerals West Coast's written submission on the Crown Minerals Amendment Bill, lodged in in late January, can be read in full here.

Minerals West Coast's manager, Patrick Phelps, spoke to this submission when appearing before select committee assessing these reforms. To see this oral submission to the Economic Development, Science and Innovation Committee, view the video below.

In early February, Minerals West Coast also lodged its submission on the Natural and Built Environment Bill, and the Spatial Planning Bill, both of which will eventually replace the Resource Management Act. Minerals West Coast's full submission can be found here.

Civil Contractors New Zealand drinks and nibbles at Paroa Hotel, Wednesday 5th of April

Civil Contractors New Zealand are inviting Minerals West Coast's members to to join them for free drinks, food, and entertainment at the Paroa Hotel on Wednesday the 5th of April.

Presentations and talk will be given from Eve Cooper of Civil Contractors New Zealand, as well as updates from the Institute of Quarrying and Minerals West Coast.

CPD points will be available to CoC holders through attendance of this event, with 1.5 hours able to be claimed.

Attendants are invited to arrive about 5:00pm for a 5:30pm start.

For more information and to register (free of charge) please visit the page on CCNZ's website by clicking here.

A video pushing for miners to retain the right to apply for access to New Zealand’s public conservation land has gathered more than a million views since in the first month since its launch.

Since the Governor General, Dame Patsy Reddy, delivered her Speech from the Throne in 2017 at the swearing in of the then incoming Labour-NZ First-Green coalition, when Dame Patsy Reddy said, “there will be no new mines on conservation land”.

Since then there has been much debate and uncertainty over the future of mining on public conservation land.

About the 20th of November (last month) Minerals West Coast launched a video running on several social media platforms including YouTube, Facebook, TikTok, Instagram, and LinkedIn.

The thrust of the video is that miners, when accessing public conservation land, can and do offer compensation payments to leave conservation land, overall, better off than if mining didn’t occur.

The above video (including some shortened versions tailored to particular platforms) has accrued more than a million views in just over a month of running online as promoted and advertised content.

A breakdown of these views is outlined below..

Minerals West Coast’s recent training workshop, held in conjunction with WorkSafe, was well attended with a total of more than 20 attendees.

The workshop covered:

1. The nature of the new mining operations and quarrying operations regulations
2. The implications for alluvial mines now captured under the regulations
3. The introduction of a new certificate of competence for alluvial mines
4. The requirement for all mines to implement health and safety management systems
5. The need for record keeping and regular reports and notifications to WorkSafe
   
   

The full PowerPoint presentation (minus videos) delivered by WorkSafe is available below:

Following the delivery of the presentation and questions and answers and discussion between WorkSafe staff and workshop attendants, alluvial gold miner and Minerals West Coast trustee, Geoff Jacobs, hosted those in attendance to his mining operation south of Hokitika.

Minerals West Coast’s forum has been scheduled for mid-May 2023 and will be held in in Westport in collaboration with AusIMM (the Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy).

The event will start on Tuesday the 16th of May 2023, running through till Thursday the 18th of May 2023.

The first day will consist of Minerals West Coast’s line-up of speakers, AusIMM will run the second day, and a field trip to nearby mining operations will be held on the event's third and final day.

Minerals West Coast and AusIMM will work to pull together an itinerary for publication early in the New Year, but in the meantime if you would like to register your interest and save the date with the form below, please do so.

MINERS' 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 YouTube, Facebook, TikTok, 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 in full below.

With changes to the Health and Safety at Work Act put in place earlier this year, the Act's  mining and quarrying regulations now apply to alluvial gold miners and quarries.

Until June 2022, such operations were not included in the regulations brought in in 2015.

Minerals West Coast and WorkSafe will be holding a workshop in Hokitika on Tuesday the 13th of December to explain how to ensure alluvial mines and quarries can operate in line with the regulations.

The workshop will run from 1:00pm through to 5:00pm and will involve a visit to a nearby alluvial gold mine, as well as a presentation from WorkSafe, followed by questions and answers.

Overall the workshop and site visit will aim to get attendants up to speed with regulations and requirements relating to:

• Site inspections
• Emergency management & response plans
• Roads and vehicle operating areas
• Working on and around water
• Risk assessments

If you have any questions relating to this workshop, please phone Patrick Phelps on 021 238 6846, or email manager@mwc.org.nz

For a quick run through of what the regulations include, refer to the WorkSafe presentation below, which WorkSafe delivered at Minerals West Coast's 2022 forum.

MINER'S MONTHLY: OCTOBER 2022

Latest in no new mines saga

Green Party MP Eugenie Sage's Crown Minerals Act Amendment (Prohibition of Mining Bill was drawn from the ballot in August, raising the prospect of the government following through on its 2017 commitment to "no new mines" on conservation land. The bill would have banned and new mines on conservation land, and all new coal mines in New Zealand after 2025.

Since the first talk of “no new mines on conservation land” in November 2017, a series of reasons has been given for not following through with the commitment.

The Labour Party has indicated it will not be supporting Eugenie Sage’s bill, but says it remains committed to the promise of “no new mines”, following the stewardship land review and other changes to the Crown Minerals Act.

Following the announcement of the Green Party’s bill, Minerals West Coast’s manager Patrick Phelps spoke on Newstalk ZB’s Mike Hosking Breakfast to discuss the issue of mining on public conservation land.

The full interview can be listened to below, or here on Newstalk ZB's website.

Mining on conservation land debated in print and online

In September Forest and Bird’s chief executive, Nicola Toki, published an opinion piece on Stuff (and in associated print publications such as the Dominion Post and the Press), titled 'Time for an end to new mines on conservation land', which can be read in full here.

A week later, Minerals West Coast’s manager Patrick Phelps published a response on Stuff (and in associated print publications such as the Dominion Post and the Press), titled A case for new mines on conservation land – Patrick’s full piece can be read in full  here.

Stewardship land submissions delivered to panels at public hearings

The review process for public conservation land classified as stewardship land on the West Coast is ongoing.

Minerals West Coast spoke at the public hearings following the lodging of written submissions in August, arguing the case for retaining the ability for miners to apply for access to public conservation land, including that which is currently classified as stewardship land.

Minerals West Coast spoke to its submission on the 14th of August at the Arahura Marae. Minerals West Coast’s manager, Patrick Phelps, explained the value of mining and minerals to the West Coast and New Zealand economies, and the benefits to people living on the West Coast and further afield. In addition, Minerals West Coast’s submission covered the strict requirements miners must meet to gain and retain access to public conservation land, the small and temporary nature of mining’s footprint, and the benefits of mining for native biodiversity through increased revenue for the Department of Conservation.

National minerals conference held at Shantytown

Resources 2022 was held at Shantytown near Greymouth in October drawing miners, suppliers, and consultants from all over the country and even from offshore.

The two day conference, held on the 17th and 18th of October, ran as a joint venture between industry association,Straterra, and media and events company, Freeman Media.

The conference covered New Zealand minerals investment opportunities, industry announcements, current mining operations, government and regulatory updates, new technology, leading geoscience and environmental science updates, workforce health and well-being, and pathways towards a low carbon economy. The website gives a full outline of what was covered, and a full programme is available here.

Minerals West Coast trustees Brett Cummings and Dave Stone worked on the content advisory panel that provided guidance for the development of the conference programme, and Minerals West Coast manager, Patrick Phelps, served as master of ceremonies for the two day event.

Submissions on Emissions Trading Scheme changes and Tai Poutini Plan

In October the Ministry for the Environment consulted on changes to the Emissions Trading Scheme.

Minerals West Coast's submission can be found in full here. Minerals West Coast's submission addressed issues with the government's proposed changes, the lack of global action, the low price placed on emissions compared to New Zealand's ETS unit price, and the economic struggles New Zealand faces.

Minerals West Coast is also preparing its submission on the proposals of the Te Tai Poutini unitary plan. The deadline for submissions has been extended to the 11th of November. Minerals West Coast will be lodging a submission on behalf of its members - if members wish to lodge their own submissions, they will need to do so before 5:00pm on Friday the 11th of November - information on how to make a submission is available here.

Mining matters #13: Mikonui moon mine

Two years ago a series of Newsroom articles painted a picture of an alluvial gold mine on conservation land in the Mikonui south of Ross. The latest Mining matters video outlines what was wrong with Newsroom's version of events, and tries to give a more accurate picture.

Nights with Bryan Crump on RNZ

Every ten weeks or so, Minerals West Coast's manager, Patrick Phelps, speaks on RNZ Night's with Bryan Crump. Bryan Crump recently moved on from RNZ Nights to a role as host on Concert FM. In the final interview between Patrick and Bryan, Patrick discussed the nature of discussions about environmental issues in New Zealand, and how it can be improved.

MINER'S MONTHLY: AUGUST 2022

Strong turnout for Reefton forum

Gold exploration, the future of the West Coast’s domestic and export coal industry, and mineral sands developments were among the line-up at Minerals West Coast’s 2022 forum in Reefton.

About 130 people made it along to the event held at the end of June at the Reefton Community Centre.

Presentations on the afternoon of the 29th of June started with a look at gold mining on the West Coast. This included updates from Mark Le Messurier of Federation Mining on the company’s progress re-establishing gold production from the Birthday Reef near Waiuta, as well as presentations from Paul Angus of Siren Gold and Simon Henderson of Reefton Gold, both of whom are undertaking exploration work in the Reefton gold fields.

The final presentation from gold producers was delivered remotely by Jayde Van Dissel of Elect Mining, who explained his company’s development and use of remote controlled winch technology on its new floating gold screen.

The second half of the Wednesday session of Minerals West Coast forum focussed on coal mines in the region.

Eamon Moynihan, manager of Francis Mining’s Echo Mine near Reefton, led the charge. He was followed by Rob Boyd of Bathurst Resources, who delivered his remote presentation on the emissions consequences of switching from coal to wood based fuels for industrial energy users.

Lincoln Smith of Terra Firma then presented on his company’s plans to reopen Spring Creek underground coal mine near Greymouth. The Wednesday session was concluded with a company update from Richard Tacon of Bathurst Resources, who spoke about the West Coast export operations at Stockton, and other operations throughout New Zealand.

The second day of the forum followed a late night for some attendants at Dawson’s Hotel and Restaurant in Reefton.

The second day of the forum followed a late night for some attendants at Dawson’s Hotel and Restaurant in Reefton.

Tom Ritchie of Westland Mineral Sands opened the second day of the event, as the company looks to enter its production phase later in 2022. He was followed by Pat Cooper of Cooper’s Drilling Services, who talked through his recent experience opening and operating a quarry north of Westport. Fabian Hartley of Alton Drilling then spoke through the company’s operations drilling on the West Coast and in other areas of New Zealand.

Mark Bowater, author of Crimes Against Mine Planning, then gave his speech on his new book, and the pitfalls of mine planning, and how to do it well.

Bernie Napp of Prospect Consulting concluded the first half of the Thursday morning session with a presentation on the growing need for sustainability reporting as mining companies come under greater pressure to demonstrate expectations of social and environmental performance are being met.

The final session of the day started with Steph Hayton of OceanaGold explaining the company’s development of a passive water treatment as mine closure and restoration progresses at Globe-Progress mine near Reefton.

This presentation was followed by Paul Berry of the Paparoa Wildlife Trust, a community organisation that carries out predator control in the Paparoa Ranges, largely supported by Roa Mining.

Then Megan Wilson of OceanaGold and Rachel Fifield, who works in socio-economic development for the Buller District Council, presented on OceanaGold’s mine closure work and Rachel’s development work that has been funded by OceanaGold.

The final two presentations of the day focussed on policy and regulations. Dave Bellett of WorkSafe updated attendants on the implications for alluvial goldmines and quarries of being brought into the mining and quarrying regulations of the Health and Safety at Work Act.

A joint presentation from New Zealand Petroleum and Minerals staff ended the day, with an explanation of new compliance regulations, penalties, and other enforcement tools, as well as an update on permit application processing.

Minerals West Coast would like to thank all presenters, volunteers who assisted their time to the event, sponsors, caterers, venue staff, and attendants for turning up on the day and making the event a success.

Overall, the forum was a successful event, and Minerals West Coast looks forward to holding its next forum in 2023.

New chairperson for Minerals West Coast

At the same time as Minerals West Coast’s forum was held in Reefton, the organisation’s annual general meeting also took place.

After five years at the helm, Glenys Perkins of Tailored Energy Solutions stood down as chairperson of Minerals West Coast. Glenys said after giving everything she could to the role in the time she has held it, it’s time to hand it over to somebody new.

Trustees and members present at the AGM elected Richard Tacon of Bathurst Resources as Minerals West Coast’s new chairperson. Richard brings decades of experience in the mining industry in New Zealand and Australia and looks forward to leading the trust. He said it will take a lot to replace Glenys but hopes he can make the necessary contribution to Minerals West Coast to allow the region’s mining industry to realise its full potential.

Minerals West Coast submits on stewardship land review

The Department of Conservation is in the process of reclassifying a significant portion of all public conservation land classified as stewardship land in the West Coast region.

Part of this process has involved a national review panel and mana whenua panel working alongside each other and making recommendations on separate blocks of stewardship land for reclassification as other categories of public conservation land – for example conservation parks, ecological areas, national parks, scenic reserves etc.

In total the panels are reviewing 504 separate parcels of land, with a total area of 644,015.7 hectares.

Minerals West Coast’s submission focussed on the process as a whole, not individual blocks of land. If miners wish to focus on specific parcels that effect their operations, submissions are not due until the 23rd of August.

Minerals West Coast’s full submission can be found below.

Minerals West Coast submits on National Policy Statement Indigenous Biodiversity

New Zealand’s government is pressing on with a national policy statement for indigenous biodiversity under the Resource Management Act. Among other things, this will involve the introduction of new rules effecting significant natural areas.

The recent draft will allow for mining in significant natural areas under certain conditions, but the full impact will not be known until the draft is finalised.

Minerals West Coast’s full submission can be found below.

National MP Stuart Smith visits West Coast mines

In June Minerals West Coast hosted a visit from National Party members of parliament Stuart Smith and Maureen Pugh. Stuart Smith is the National Party’s spokesperson for energy and resources. Stuart was joined by his advisor, Kishan Niran.

After some weather related disruptions effecting the first half of the trip, Stuart, Kishan, and Maureen met with Minerals West Coast to visit Federation Mining’s underground operation at Snowy River.

After staying overnight in Reefton, Stuart, Maureen, and Kishan visited OceanaGold’s Globe-Progress mine to see the site’s closure works, before driving through to Westport to visit Bathurst Resources’ office in town for an insight into the company’s Stockton operations.

The visit concluded with a site visit to Pat Cooper’s quarry at Jones Creek north of Westport before Stuart and Kishan flew out of Westport Airport.

Minerals West Coast thanks Stuart for his interest in the sector and the region and looks forward to hosting more visits from politicians of all parties in the near future.

Talking coal with One News and Newstalk ZB

Since November 2021 Minerals West Coast has been working online and across social media platforms to raise awareness of the ongoing role for coal in New Zealand to support New Zealand food production, steel and cement manufacturing, and electricity generation, among other sectors.

In July, One News picked up on this issue, and covered the conflict between addressing New Zealand’s greenhouse gas emissions and the present cost of living crisis.

Minerals West Coast manager, Patrick Phelps, met Auckland base reporter, Logan Church, at Bathurst Resources’ Rotowaro Mine in the Waikato, which supplies North Island customers like Genesis Energy and New Zealand Steel. The story is available below. It may be better to watch the story directly on OneNews's website by clicking here.

Following the One News coverage, Newstalk ZB took an interest in the issue. Patrick spoke to Simon Barnett and Tyler Adams on Newstalk ZB afternoons in depth, answering questions to listeners phoning into the station to ask questions about coal. The full interview can be listened to below.

Economics of mining with Bryan Crump on RNZ Nights

Every two and half months Minerals West Coast’s manager, Patrick Phelps, talks mining on RNZ Nights with Bryan Crump.

In the most recent slot, Patrick explained the opportunities mining’s high productivity and wages provide regions like the West Coast.

 The full interview can be heard below.

Security seminar RockIT remote security solutions

Minerals West Coast was recently contacted by Allied Locks and RockIT, who will be holding seminars on the West Coast next week to talk through their smart lock technology that is used to protect remote work sites with security needs.

These sessions will be held in Greymouth on the 17th of August from 11:00am to 12:00pm, Hokitika from 2:30pm to 3:30pm.

An event will be held in Westport on Thursday the 18th of August from 9:00am to 10:00am.

To find out more about these events and to RSVP, please email John Moorhead at john@alliedlocks.co.nz

Bookings will close at the end of the day Friday for Minerals West Coast's 2022 forum. Anyone planning to attend who hasn't registered for tickets already, needs to do so before the end of the day on Friday the 17th of June. For all information about the forum, including full itinerary and ticket purchasing, please visit the page on Minerals West Coast's website by clicking here.

Minerals West Coast is facilitating a mine planning workshop at the Reefton School of Mines on the morning of Wednesday the 29th of June.

The workshop will be run by Mark Bowater, who has more than three decades in mining engineering and management in Australia and authored recently published book Crimes Against Mine Planning.

Mark Bowater's workshop will focus on how to better develop and implement mine plans in order to lift efficiency and productivity. This is achieved by focusing on the leading causes of poor mine planning, and how to address them.

The workshop will be held at the Reefton School of Mines (22 Shiel Street, Reefton) starting at 10:00am on Wednesday the 29th of June, running through till 11:30am.

Registration fees for this event are $50.00 for Minerals West Coast members, and $100 for non-members.

There is limited capacity for this event, so please register if you wish to attend. To do so, please email Patrick at manager@mwc.org.nz

If you have any questions please phone Patrick on 021 238 6846, or email manager@mwc.org.nz

Minerals West Coast is in the process of preparing its submission of recently announced proposals for reclassification of stewardship land on the West Coast.

The scope of this reclassification covers about 850,000 hectares of land, and as such will inevitably capture land that has mineral value - known or unknown.

Some reclassification categories - such as "conservation park", would still allow for mining under existing legislation, unless the government moves to ban mining on public conservation land generally.

For the current consultation, the greatest risk to future mining would be if land were classified as National Park (where mining is effectively prohibited) and, to a certain extent, if stewardship land is reclassified as ecological area.

The table below gives an outline of the areas of stewardship land that have been recommended for reclassification so far - a large area, mainly in South Westland, is yet to have any recommendations made.

About 12% of the area of stewardship land has been recommended for reclassification as National Park, and 1.13% has been recommended for reclassification as ecological area.

The many parcels of land that have been recommended for reclassification cover a large area. As stated above, the reclassification category of greatest concern is National Park, and, to a certain extent ecological area.

While Minerals West Coast will submit against any reclassification of land as National Park, and against reclassification as ecological area on a case by case basis, it would be helpful to have feedback on particular parcels of land that may be of particular known mineral value.

Information explaining the recommendations is available in full on the Department of Conservation's website, and can be found here.

This information can be difficult to manage, and for that reason Minerals West Coast has prepared the below documents as a guide to see what land has been recommended for classification as National Park or ecological area.

Click to download each file, and then simply click the link in the left-hand column for more information about the relevant land parcel.

Please email any information you would like included in Minerals West Coast's submission to manager@mwc.org.nz as soon as possible. Submissions close on the 26th of July.

MINER'S MONTHLY MAY 2022

Miners invited to meet with National Party energy and resources spokesperson, Stuart Smith

On the 13th and 14th of June, Minerals West Coast will host the National Party's spokesperson for energy and resources, Stuart Smith, visiting mines and miners on the West Coast to inform the party's understanding of the mining industry on the West Coast.

Minerals West Coast invites its members, particularly local miners, to meet for lunch with Stuart Smith at 12:30pm on Monday the 13th of June at the Paroa Hotel.

This will be a good opportunity for local operators to share their experiences in the industry and offer suggestions on what policies and regulations would better enable the sector.

If you would like to attend, please email manager@mwc.org.nz to confirm your attendance to ensure there is adequate catering on the day.

Heavy mineral sand mining given the go-ahead in Buller

Westland Mineral Sands secured resource consents in May for the mining of heavy mineral sands near Cape Foulwind outside Westport. The mine is expected to initially employ about forty people, with a concentrate processed at onsite plants before being trucked to the port of Westport for export.

Minerals West Coast manager, Patrick Phelps, spoke on the Mike Hosking Breakfast on Newstalk ZB on the 12th of May to discuss the benefits of the project and what it means for the mining industry and the West Coast region.

Climate Change Emissions budgets released

The government this month released its climate change emission reduction plans. With the exception of confirmation of the government’s intention of banning the use of what, by its definition, are low and medium temperature coal boilers by 2037, there was nothing new relating to the mining industry.

The emissions reduction plans, which outline the reductions in emissions New Zealand will aim to achieve in three five year periods out to 2037, are part of the government’s commitments to reach net-zero carbon dioxide emissions by 2050.

There was no mention in the plans of any legislation specific to the extraction of coal, or anything notable relating to heavy diesel or earthmoving equipment, with the majority of the focus on transport.

Minerals West Coast discusses New Zealand's climate change performance on RNZ

In April, in anticipation of the release of the government's emissions reduction plans, Minerals West Coast manager, Patrick Phelps, discussed New Zealand's performance in emissions reductions over the past three decades on his regular slot on RNZ's evening show Nights with Bryan Crump.

The interview covered some of the reasons New Zealand's emissions have continued to rise in the past three decades while those of other countries have fallen, and the difficulty the country will have in reducing emissions in some sectors.

The full interview can be heard below.

Minerals West Coast forum one month away

Tickets to Minerals West Coast's annual forum are still for sale if you haven't yet registered.

For a full forum itinerary and information on how to register, please visit the page on Minerals West Coast's website by clicking here.

Minerals West Coast is facilitating a mine planning workshop at the Reefton School of Mines on the morning of Wednesday the 29th of June.

The workshop will be run by Mark Bowater, who has more than three decades in mining engineering and management in Australia and authored recently published book Crimes Against Mine Planning.

Mark Bowater's workshop will focus on how to better develop and implement mine plans in order to lift efficiency and productivity. This is achieved by focusing on the leading causes of poor mine planning, and how to address them.

The workshop will be held at the Reefton School of Mines (22 Shiel Street, Reefton) starting at 10:00am on Wednesday the 29th of June, running through till 11:30am.

Registration fees for this event are $50.00 for Minerals West Coast members, and $100 for non-members.

There is limited capacity for this event, so please register if you wish to attend. To do so, please email Patrick at manager@mwc.org.nz

If you have any questions phone 021 238 6846

Minerals West Coast's forum for 2022 will be held in Reefton on Wednesday the 29th and Thursday the 30th of June.

The forum will start from 1:00pm through to about 5:30pm on the Wednesday, before dinner and drinks on the Wednesday night.

The forum will resume about 08:30pm the following morning on Thursday the 30th of June, finishing about midday, with a field trip to mine sites in the Reefton area in the afternoon.

Minerals West Coast is in the process of finalising the itinerary and other details. 

A full rundown of the event will be circulated and tickets made available for purchase no later than Friday the 6th of May.

Minerals West Coast's annual forum is set to be held in Reefton in late June 2022.

Due to Covid-19 alert level restrictions, the annual forum could not be held as planned in October last year. Venue details are still being confirmed, but at the time of writing the forum will held in the last week of June - the week starting Monday the 27th of June.

More information will be made available to Minerals West Coast members in the coming weeks as details are confirmed.

Minerals West Coast began its "coal in New Zealand" campaign in November last year, and actively promoted video content on social media channels such as Facebook, YouTube, Instagram, and TikTok to raise awareness of coal in New Zealand. This content was supported by an extensive website to provide further detail and information to support the videos and to serve as a more in-depth resource.

When active promotion of these videos ended in mid-March, the combined total views across all platforms was about 2.4 million. The website accrued about 11,000 hits in the same period. 

The Department of Conservation is looking at how to review and reclassify stewardship land under its management.

The biggest threat this may present to the mining industry is if parcels of stewardship land are reclassified as National Park, meaning they will effectively be out of access for the mining industry.

This was the main theme of Minerals West Coast’s submission, which can be found below.

The Buller, Grey, and Westland District councils are together working to put together a combined district plan for the West Coast.

In March, the planning committee sought feedback on an exposure draft put out for consultation.

Minerals West Coast lodged provided its feedback on the draft. This feedback is available below.

MINER'S MONTHLY FEBRUARY 2022

'COAL IN NEW ZEALAND' CAMPAIGN REACHES 1.5 MILLION VIEWS AND COUNTING

A series of videos and online articles explaining the need for coal in New Zealand's basic and essential industries in this country have together accumulated more than 1,500,000 views and counting. The website can be found at www.coal.kiwi.

Following a successful first round of videos explaining coal’s role in electricity generation, food production, and the New Zealand economy, a second round of videos was released in mid-January.

These videos looked at what the required increase in electricity generation from hydroelectricity, wind power, or solar electricity would be needed to replace coal in the electricity sector alone.

How many Clyde Dams would it take to save New Zealand from fossil fuels?

How many wind farms would it take to save New Zealand from fossil fuels?

How many solar panels and batteries would it take to save New Zealand from fossil fuels?

MINERALS WEST COAST FORUM DATE YET TO BE DETERMINED

Minerals West Coast’s forum for 2021 had been postponed for a saved date of 23rd March 2022 prior to the Covid-19 Omicron outbreak and resultant red traffic light settings. Due to the current red traffic light setting, Minerals West Coast will further delay Minerals West Coast's next forum, until it can be planned with greater certainty at a less restrictive traffic light setting - either green or ideally orange.

The red traffic light settings mean that any events held require by law:

• That fewer than 100 people are in attendance
  
• All in attendance have vaccine passports
  
• All delegates observe at least one metre of social distancing
  
• All in attendance be seated while food or drinks are served and consumed
  

Some companies and government departments have policies in place restricting or inhibiting inter-regional travel and/or attendance of events at the red traffic light setting.

Minerals West Coast intends to hold its forum as soon as it is possible to do so. As soon as alert level restrictions allow (most likely following a change in settings) and will make the time, date, and other details known as soon as they are confirmed.

MINING ON CONSERVATION LAND DISCUSSED ON RNZ NIGHTS

The issue of mining on conservation land remains a controversial and unsettled issue ever since the incoming government in late 2017 issued a proclamation in its “speech from the throne” that there would be “no new mines” on public conservation land.

In early 2022 any confirmation about whether this commitment will ever come to pass has yet to be given one way or the other.

In the first of five slots on RNZ’s evening show, Nights,  in 2022, Minerals West Coast’s manager, Patrick Phelps, took the opportunity to discuss plans by OceanaGold to explore for and potentially mine gold underneath Coromandel Forest Park, and in turn the wider topic of mining on public conservation land.

Patrick Phelps's full interview can be listened to below.

The following night, RNZ spoke to former Green Party list MP and chairperson of anti-mining group, Coromandel Watchdog, Catherine Delahunty. The full interview can be found below.

MINING MATTERS #12: THE GOLDMINE AND THE FROG

TE TAI POUTINI PLAN EXPOSURE DRAFT PUBLISHED FOR FEEDBACK

The planners working on the Te Tai o Poutini plan, a single district plan for all three districts on the West Coast, have released the exposure draft for feedback from the wider community.

An outline of the exposure draft, the zones that will exist in the districts and what they will allow or restrict, and the process for giving feedback can be read in the document below.

Minerals West Coast is going to be submitting feedback on the draft plan – if you have any questions or would like to make any comments through Minerals West Coast please contact Patrick Phelps at manager@mwc.org.nz or phone 021 238 6846.

As was notified back in September, Minerals West Coast’s annual forum was not able to go ahead as initially planned in October 2021 due to the uncertainty brought about by Covid-19 and the resulting alert level restrictions at the time.

Minerals West Coast intends to hold its forum in March 2022, with a provisional date of Wednesday the 23rd of March for the forum, and a field trip on Thursday the 24th of March.

These dates may change, but pencil them into your diary for now if you are interested in attending our delayed October 2021 forum in March 2022. Details like the venue, final dates, and an itinerary will be confirmed early in the new year.

Fill out the RSVP below to register your interest in attending Minerals West Coast’s 2022 forum in March.

The Department of Conservation’s review of Stewardship land is to be carried out in 2022. Stewardship land amounts to about 10% of New Zealand’s land area and 44% the West Coast’s land area (as part of the 82% of the West Coast protected as public conservation land).

Much of the Stewardship land on the West Coast is held in very large parcels – see the table below for reference. Some of these parcels are adjacent to National Parks and there is a risk that if these parcels are added to National Park they will be captured by Schedule 4 of the Crown Minerals Act, which specifies areas of land in New Zealand (including, but not limited to National Parks) where mining permits cannot be obtained.

There are two panels preparing advice for the minister of conservation on how to proceed with reclassification of Stewardship land, and this advice will be given to the minister after eight months. Once these recommendations have been received and given the due attention from the minister, the matter will go out for public consultation.  

In May this year the government received submissions on its fourth round of consultation on removing coal and natural gas from industrial process heat since early 2019. A fifth consultation has been conducted since.

The government announced yesterday that it will delay making any decision on the matters consulted on – namely using the Resource Management Act to ban coal use for many industrial users – until late 2022.

A full story on this is available on RNZ’s website, here. To read Minerals West Coast’s submission lodged at the time, read the below document.

Minerals West Coast’s amalgamation with the West Coast Commercial Goldminers’ Association has been finalised, with both organisations forming one entity – Minerals West Coast.

Financial assets have been consolidated, and the West Coast Commercial Goldminers’ Association is in the process of being disbanded. Minerals West Coast’s board currently has strong representation from alluvial goldminers, including Brett Cummings, former president of the West Coast Commercial Goldminers’ Association.

High gold production on the West Coast on the back of high gold prices caught the attention of both RNZ and Magic Talk in November, with both radio stations covering the increased production levels and price per ounce on air.

Minerals West Coast manager Patrick Phelps, and trustee, Peter Haddock, featured in a piece put together by RNZ reporter Conan Young. The full story can be heard below.

Following that story, Patrick Phelps spoke to Lloyd Burr on Magic Talk’s Lloyd Burr Live show.

The interview can be found at in the playback below from the 02:24:30 onward.

Minerals West Coast last month launched it’s Coal in New Zealand website (www.coal.kiwi) and associated videos on social media.

At the time of writing (23rd of December 2021) the three videos have amassed over 300,000 views on Facebook and YouTube. Analytics from these platforms shows the majority of viewers are in Auckland, Wellington, and Christchurch, aged between 25-44.

MINER'S MONTHLY NOVEMBER 2021

Annual general meeting held held in Reefton

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Minerals West Coast's annual general meeting held in Reefton at the end of October gave members a chance to review the annual report and financial statements, elect representatives to the board, and get an update on recent and upcoming activities of Minerals West Coast. The meeting itself was followed by two presentations: the first from New Zealand Petroleum and Minerals, the second from MinEx.

The election of trustees and appointments/reappointments to the board means Minerals West Coast's board now consists of the following elected representatives:

• Glenys Perkins, Tailored Energy Solutions (chairwoman of Minerals West Coast, reelected)
• Sue Attwood, Placer Global (trustee, reelected)
• Pat Cooper, Coopers Drilling Services (trustee, reelected)
• Brett Cummings, Amalgamated Mining (trustee, reelected)
• Peter Haddock, Mill Creek Mining (trustee, reelected)
• Geoff Jacobs, Paramount Mining (trustee, elected)
• Peter O'Sullivan, Tai Poutini Polytechnic (trustee, reelected)
• Lincoln Smith, Terra Firma (trustee, elected)
• Dave Stone, Rosco Contractors Limited (trustee, reelected)
• Richard Tacon, Bathurst Resources (trustee, elected)

The financial statements and annual report, along with the minutes of the AGM, will be circulated directly to Minerals West Coast’s members.

Minerals West Coast wishes to once again thank CablePrice for its sponsorship of the evening's dinner and drinks.

New Zealand Petroleum and Minerals update

Following the end of the formal annual general meeting, New Zealand Petroleum and Minerals joined the meeting via a Zoom link to discuss efforts the agency (which operates within the Ministry of Business, Innovation, and Employment). The staff who joined via video link included:

• Sarah Kenward (manager of mineral operations)
• Tim Journeaux (principal minerals advisor)
• Jeanette Walker (senior minerals advisor)
• Susan Baas (national manager of minerals and petroleum)

The presentation began with an explanation of the makeup of the permissions team, which includes about eight or nine minerals advisors who process applications, before going into permit applications and processing.

New Zealand Petroleum and Minerals explained (as is shown in the below chart) that there was a significant increase in applications for new permits about May-June 2020 due largely to heightened gold prices through the Covid-19 pandemic unfolding, and increased interest in gold mining as a result.

New Zealand Petroleum and Minerals staff explained that of its team of seven minerals advisors (which has recently grown to nine with the recruitment of two new staff) one advisor will be responsible for processing about 8-10 applications at once, and the remainder of applications will stay unassigned until there is an advisor free to process them. About the time of the meeting there were 200 unassigned permits in the queue, the majority of which were tier 2 exploration permits.

New Zealand Petroleum and Minerals staff said of the 200 unassigned applications, all have received an initial assessment and been deemed "complete" before being added to the queue. During this initial stage of assessment, some permits are given priority as "urgent", or added to the queue as unassigned applications until there is an advisor free to process them.

New Zealand Petroleum and Minerals staff said (as can be seen above) while processing performance has improved in recent months, with increased output on a quarterly basis, it hasn't been enough to clear the entire backlog in the queue due to the number of applications coming in.

New Zealand Petroleum and Minerals staff credited the increased productivity to some measures it has taken within the agency, the recruitment of new staff, and better guidance to (and communications with) permit applicants and permit holders.

One piece of communication New Zealand Petroleum and Minerals recently issued was a list of common mistakes for permit applicants, which is included below:

Other initiatives New Zealand Petroleum and Minerals will be trialing in the near future include an accelerated approach to straightforward applications - namely complete, with all the information, and likely to be granted, to get such applications through the system as quickly as possible.

New Zealand Petroleum and Minerals said the combination of different measures taken have together increased performance, and the agency will continue to identify and implement measures to increase efficiency, but that there are no silver bullets.

MinEx on impact on alluvial mines and quarries coming into mining regulations

Following the presentation from New Zealand Petroleum and Minerals, MinEx chief executive, Wayne Scott, addressed those attending to explain what changes there will be for alluvial mines and quarries as a result of such operations now being included in the Health and Safety at Work Act's mining and quarrying regulations - until now they have been exempt.

These changes will likely be implemented in February 2022, with a two year transition period. A summary is shown below, along with the new definition of a principal hazard, and the impacts on quarries and alluvial gold operations.

Wayne Scott explained one of the most significant changes will be that all siteswill be required to have a health and safety management system.

WorkSafe will be running information workshops around the country in 2022, and MinEx will develop templates, examples, and guidance for sites as they move to operating under the new requirements.

Wayne Scott invited all those who are not yet in the MinEx database or on the mailing system to join via MinEx's website - www.minex.org.nz

Submission lodged on review of freshwater policies

Earthworks in wetlands - such as mining - were classified as prohibited activities under the Resource Management Act as a result of the government's freshwater reforms.

While this has not yet changed, the government is in the process of reviewing those reforms to consider creating a consenting pathway for earthworks in wetlands - including for resource extraction, but also extending to urban development and infrastructure - provided there is no net loss for wetlands overall.

Last month, the government received submissions after a round of policy consultation on the issue.

Minerals West Coast's submission can be found in full below:

Minerals West Coast launches Coal in New Zealand campaign

In an effort to raise awareness about the role of coal in New Zealand now and in years to come, Minerals West Coast has this month launched a series of online videos and a dedicated website "Coal in New Zealand" in a bid to increase the wider New Zealand public's understanding of coal use in New Zealand, and why it is not easily replaced. These videos can be seen below, and on the www.coal.kiwi website.

Patrick Phelps and Bryan Crump talk tourism and mining for last radio slot of the year

For his fourth and final ten-weekly slot on RNZ Nights with Bryan Crump,  Minerals West Coast's manager, Patrick Phelps, had a look at whether the idea the West Coast should look to tourism instead of mining as way of making a living actually stands up to much scrutiny.

The full interview can be found below:

Minerals West Coast’s annual general meeting is just over a week away – if you are planning to attend but simply haven’t had time to RSVP yet, please do so before midday on Friday the 22nd of October.

CablePrice is generously sponsoring dinner and drinks for Minerals West Coast members attending the AGM next Thursday.

The AGM will start at 4:00pm on Thursday the 28th of October at the Reefton St John’s Centre on Smith Street (north of Little Biddy’s Gin outlet).

CablePrice’s generous sponsorship has allowed Minerals West Coast to provide its members dinner and drinks free of charge – please RSVP no later than midday on Friday the 23rd of October to ensure you will be seated, fed, and watered at the venue on the night.

Minerals West Coast wishes to thank CablePrice for the generous support of this event.
If you have any questions, please contact Patrick Phelps on 021 238 6846 OR manger@mwc.org.nz
 

Minerals West Coast is holding its annual general meeting in the Reefton St John's Smith Street facilities on the Thursday the 28th of October. The AGM will start about 4:00pm.

As well as the AGM, which will run from 4:00pm to 5:00pm, there will be speakers (joining in person or remotely depending on their ability to travel) giving presentations to attendants from 5:00pm onward before moving to Wilson's Hotel and Cafe on Broadway for dinner and drinks from 6:00pm onward.

Use the forms below to RSVP for the AGM and dinner and drinks respectively.

Each attendant will need to pay for their own meals and drinks, but Minerals West Coast needs RSVPs to ensure Wilson's will have enough capacity for all those who wish to attend.

If you have any questions or would like to get in touch, please email Patrick Phelps on manager@mwc.org.nz, or call 021 238 6846.

Minerals West Coast looks forward to seeing you there.

Minerals West Coast’s annual general meeting will be held in Reefton on Thursday the 28th of October, starting at 4pm at St John’s Reefton, on Smith Street.

The annual general meeting will be held in conjunction with the annual general meeting of the West Coast Commercial Goldminers’ Association.

Among other matters to address at the meeting will be the presentation to members of annual reports and financial statements, the appointment of trustees and election of chairperson, and with regard to the West Coast Commercial Goldminers’ Association, a final decision on whether or not to amalgamate with Minerals West Coast, subject to the support of members.

After the annual general meeting, depending on travel restrictions and other Covid-19 related issues, there may be two presentations to attendants. The first from New Zealand Petroleum and Minerals staff, to discuss steps being taken to address the permit applications queue. 

The second presentation will be from MinEx chief executive, Wayne Scoot, the national health and safety council for the mining and quarrying sectors. Wayne will explain changes to the Health and Safety at Work Act Mining and Quarrying Regulations, which are likely to take affect near the end of this year.

At 6pm the presentations will end and there will be dinner and drinks at Wilson’s bar and restaurant.

Please email Patrick Phelps on manager@mwc.org.nz to RSVP for dinner and drinks so Minerals West Coast can do the venue the courtesy of making a booking. 

If not, Minerals West Coast makes no promises will be you will be seated or fed.

A meeting is being held for members of Minerals West Coast and the West Coast Commercial Goldminers’ Association on Wednesday the 6th of October at 6:30pm at the Paroa Hotel.

Among other matters arising, there will be further opportunity for members to discuss the proposed amalgamation of Minerals West Coast and the West Coast Commercial Goldminers’ Association as one entity – Minerals West Coast.

This follows a meeting held in Hokitika in July in which all in attendance expressed unanimous support for the amalgamation.

In line with the West Coast Commercial Goldminers’ Association’s constitution, and in the spirit of ensuring all parties concerned have had ample opportunity to share their views on the amalgamation, the meeting held on the 6th of October will give all in attendance the chance to discuss the matter further.

Subject to the support of the membership, the amalgamation will be finalised at this year’s annual general meetings of the organisations, which will be held in Reefton on the 28th of October.

The West Coast Commercial Goldminers' Association's full constitution is available here and the deed of Minerals West Coast available here. 

Minerals West Coast is continuing to work with New Zealand Petroleum and Minerals on addressing the mining industry’s concerns with the processing of permit applications and other permissions under the Crown Minerals Act.

Minerals West Coast understands that New Zealand Petroleum and Minerals is taking steps to address the backlog of permit applications in the queue. This includes filling two vacancies within the organisation’s permitting team with the recent recruitment of two new minerals advisors, and in addition the engagement of a temporary contractor to help with reducing the number permits waiting in the queue.

Minerals West Coast is working with New Zealand Petroleum and Minerals staff on the reestablishment of processing performance reports, to give the industry greater visibility and clarity of New Zealand Petroleum and Minerals’ workload and how quickly permits are being processed relative to how many are lodged in a given period.

The government, through the Ministry for the Environment, is consulting on changing regulations put in place in the course of its freshwater law changes that prohibited earthworks in wetlands.

This effectively made mining, quarrying, and earthworks for construction and infrastructure impossible under the laws as written.

The consultation document, ‘Managing our wetlands’, sets out proposals to:

• Change the definition of ‘natural wetland’ to make it clearer and ensure only the areas intended for protection are captured by the regulations
• Make more allowance for restoration, maintenance, and biosecurity work to be carried out in and around natural wetlands
• Allow for activities like quarrying, managed land fill, land fill, clean fill, mining, and urban development to be carried out through a consenting process
  
  

This means it may be possible to obtain permission through obtaining a resource consent for mining in areas where, as the law stands, it would not be possible to even apply for permission to mine, let alone mine.

Minerals West Coast will be submitting on this consultation – the 17-page consultation, while no contender for the Whitcoulls’ top ten, is available here.

If you have any points you think Minerals West Coast should raise in its submission, please contact Patrick Phelps on either 021 238 6846, or manager@mwc.org.nz

Through winter in 2021 New Zealand's experienced power cuts and coal-fired electricity generation that’s been up on lower levels in recent years.

For instance, on 2016, New Zealand burned only 228,179 tonnes of coal for electricity generation, but in 2020, 798,723 tonnes.

In Mining matters #11, Minerals West Coast’s manager, Patrick Phelps, takes a look at coal use in New Zealand’s electricity sector.

Minerals West Coast and the West Coast Commercial Goldminers' Association will be meeting on Wednesday the 6th of October as part of the process of amalgamating Minerals West Coast and the West Coast Commercial Goldminers' Association.

At the last meeting all those in attendance were in favour of amalgamation, which will result in the two entities becoming one organisation - Minerals West Coast - and a consolidation of assets and working as one entity.

Members will have further opportunity to put their views forward on the amalgamation, which subject to the support of members will be finalised this year at Minerals West Coast's and the West Coast Commercial Goldminers' Association's joint annual general meetings.

The upcoming meeting will be held in the side room of the Paroa Hotel on Wednesday the 6th of October at 6:30pm.

If you have any questions about this meeting, please contact Patrick Phelps on 021 238 6846, or manager@mwc.org.nz

Minerals West Coast has decided to postpone its annual forum, initially scheduled for late October 2021, until early 2022.

Last year's forum was held at alert level 2 with a limit of 100 attendants. Unfortunately, due to the new meaning of alert level 2, events like the Minerals West Coast forum can have no more than 50 people in attendance - at this limit, such a forum is not feasible.

At this stage it is difficult to know if or when New Zealand will return to alert level 1, and as such, Minerals West Coast has decided it would be prudent to postpone the forum until early next year - most likely late February or early March.

Once new forum dates have been selected with some degree of confidence they won't need to be shifted, members and the wider industry will be notified, and tickets will be made available.

For Minerals West Coast members, an annual general meeting will still be held on the 28th of October, with some speakers, a social gathering, and a field trip of some description. Members will be notified once this itinerary has been prepared.

If you have any questions in the mean time, please get in touch with Minerals West Coast's manager, Patrick Phelps, via phone (021 238 6846) or email manager@mwc.org.nz

Tickets available for Minerals West Coast 2021 forum

Minerals West Coast's 2021 forum has been set in for Thursday the 28th of October, and will be held in Reefton.

Minerals West Coast's annual general meeting will also be held on the same day, prior to the forum starting.

The line up for the 2021 Forum: Resurgence, ticket prices, and registration details, can all be found on the forum page - click the button below to see for yourself.

Minerals West Coast and West Coast Commercial Goldminers' Association amalgamation

Minerals West Coast and the West Coast Commercial Goldminers' Association will need to meet at least once more prior to the joint AGM to be held in Reefton this year in conjunction with Minerals West Coast's annual forum.

This is to ratify the amalgamation of Minerals West Coast and the West Coast Commercial Goldminers' Association as one entity.

The last meeting was held in Hokitika in July, with all attendees voting in support of the merger. In line with the West Coast Commercial Goldminers' Association's constitution, another meeting will be held prior to finalising the amalgamation at the AGM in Reefton this year.

This meeting will be held once the country moves to Covid-19 alert level 2, and will be held in Greymouth. Once the time and location for this meeting have been confirmed, members will be notified.

Mining at Covid-19 alert level 3

With KFC and McDonald's back operating, so are many businesses in New Zealand outside Auckland and Wellington.

The government recommends that staff within an organisation who can continue to work from home should do so. 

For those who physically need to be at their work to do it, the following advice is given for working and running a business at alert level three:

• Everyone on site maintaining at least one metre of distance from one another at all times
• Visitors to worksites (customers, contractors etc) maintaining at least two metres of distance at all times
• Staggering break times between staff to reduce the number of people in one place at one time
• Providing hygiene and cleaning products so workers can disinfect shared surfaces (like the inside of a machine if it will be used by multiple operators) and wash and dry their hands
• Making sure a QR code or hard copy register is available for contact tracing
  
  

Vaccination bookings on the West Coast

If you've been thinking about booking an appointment for your Covid-19 jab, but haven't yet, you can either book online or over the phone.

The phone number is 0800 28 29 26, and operators are available to take your call any time from 8:00am to 8:00pm.

If the vaccination centre closest to you doesn't have any vacancies any time soon, ask the operator whether there are any other centres nearby with vacancies at an earlier time - this may mean having to take more time out of your day, but it is an option.

Rumour has it, it takes only five minutes to book online if you don't want to deal with waiting on the phone. 

Minerals West Coast and New Zealand Petroleum and Minerals Working together to address permit application backlog

Minerals West Coast met with New Zealand Petroleum and Minerals staff in mid-August to discuss time delays in the processing of applications for exploration and mining permits under the Crown Minerals Act.

In mid-August Minerals West Coast's chairwoman, Glenys Perkins, and manager, Patrick Phelps, met with  NZP&M staff in Wellington.

Minerals West Coast understands that in line with new protocols of not accepting applications if they are incomplete, about a third of permit applications are being rejected.

This is to ensure that those applications that lodged with the complete set of information required can get the full attention of staff, whereas incomplete applications need to be rewritten and resubmitted. If applications are rejected, application fees are refunded to the applicant.

Minerals West Coast intends to work with NZP&M to reestablish performance reporting, which was carried out on a quarterly basis throughout 2016 and 2017.

This involves NZP&M publishing permissions processing reports four times a year, outlining the number of applications received in a three month period, and the percentage of those applications processed within the target time frames, shown below.

Subject to alert level restrictions, NZP&M will be speaking to these issues and other matters at the 2021 forum in October.

Minerals West Coast manager talks coal supply and demand with Bryan Crump

About the 10th of August the United Nations International Panel on Climate Change published its report labelled a "code red to humanity" and stressed all countries, big and small, rich and poor, need to drastically reduce emissions of greenhouse gases.

About the same time, in New Zealand, there were power cuts around the country on the coldest night of the year, with unprecedented demand for electricity. The next morning, the same energy and resources minister who wants 100% renewable electricity by 2030 wanted to know why 51% Crown-owned Genesis Energy hadn't burnt more coal to keep the lights on.

All this and more was the focus of the latest conversation between Minerals West Coast's manager, Patrick Phelps, and host of RNZ Nights, Bryan Crump. The full interview is available below.

Minerals West Coast is proud to announce a date has been set for its annual forum, to be held in Reefton on Thursday the 21st of October, along with its annual general meeting.

Once the full line-up of speakers has been finalised, along with a few other details, tickets will be made available for purchase for those wishing to attend.

Minerals West Coast is looking forward to hosting another successful forum on the back of last year's Reefton event.

Subject to interest, a field trip to a mine within the Reefton area may be organised for Friday the 22nd of October.

More information will be available within the coming weeks.

Minerals West Coast will be meeting with staff from New Zealand Petroleum and Minerals to address concerns over the speed of permit processing for those working in the minerals sector, such as miners and explorers.

In July, Minerals West Coast wrote to New Zealand Petroleum and Minerals raising concerns with the department's processing of permits and the impact it is having on the mining sector. New Zealand Petroleum and Minerals staff have since spoken with Minerals West Coast at the most recent trust meeting (held in August) to explain some of the issues.

Another meeting will be held when Minerals West Coast representatives meet with New Zealand Petroleum and Minerals staff in Wellington this month. If you have any concerns you would like raised at this meeting, or solutions, please contact Minerals West Coast's manager, Patrick Phelps, so that these matters can be put in front of the officials.

Patrick can be contacted by email at manager@mwc.org.nz or by phone on 021 238 6846.

In mid-July a meeting was held in mid-July to confirm and progress the merger of Minerals West Coast and the West Coast Commercial Goldminers' Association. All those in attendance from both organisations (which have many common members) supported the two groups becoming one, with the West Coast Commercial Goldminers' Association amalgamating into Minerals West Coast.

In line with the constitution of the West Coast Commercial Goldminers' Association constitution, another meeting will be held on between now and the annual general meeting of both groups in October when the merger will be finalised, subject to the approval of each respective groups' membership.

This is a reminder to members of both Minerals West Coast and the West Coast Commercial Goldminers' Association of the meeting being held this Wednesday (14th of May) at the Hokitika RSA (22 Sewell Street) regarding the amalgamation of Minerals West Coast and the West Coast Commercial Goldminers' Association.

This amalgamation was discussed and agreed to in principle at last year's annual general meetings of both organisations in Reefton (3rd September, 2020).

This meeting is to discuss the details of the amalgamation, and talk through any matters members wish to raise.

The West Coast Commercial Goldminers' Association's constitution can be found here.  The constitution of Minerals West Coast Trust can be found here.

If you have any questions about this meeting, please contact Patrick Phelps on either 021 238 6846, or email manager@mwc.org.nz .

Time: Meeting will start at 7:00pm, running through till 8:00pm.
Location: Westland RSA, 22 Sewell Street, Hokitika.

MINERS' MONTHLY: JUNE 2021

Echo and Federation Mining field trip

A field trip this month (June) allowed attendants to get a close up look at operations at Reefton's Echo coal mine, and Federation Mining’s development at its Snowy River site. The Minerals West Coast contingent travelled by van to Reefton and Echo coal mine was the first stop of the day. Echo sits in the Garvey Creek Coalfield (part of the Brunner coal measures), producing coal for export, which is taken by rail to the Lyttelton Port before being taken by ship to international markets.

Mine manager, Eamon Moynihan started the day by giving the Minerals West Coast visitors a run through of the history, development, and modern operations of the mine, followed by a visit to view the working pit.

Then visitors were shown the results of the rehabilitation efforts at the site, as well as the mussel shell reactor acid mine drainage treatment.

After travelling back through Reefton for lunch, Minerals West Coast travelled south to visit Federation Mining’s Snowy River site. Broken up into groups of three, each group was given a run through of the development of the site, and future exploration and mine plans, an explanation of the wetland water treatment system, and a walking tour of the tunnel development to date.

Photos of the underground development can be seen below. 

Nights interview

Every ten weeks Minerals West Coast manager, Patrick Phelps, speaks to Bryan Crump (host of Nights on RNZ National) to discuss whatever subject relating to mining is topical at the time.

This month’s focus of conversation was where the mining history sits in the context of New Zealand’s biodiversity crisis.

Mining matters #10: Significant natural areas

In the same context, the latest installment of Mining Matters looks at the issue of significant natural areas – SNAs’ – on private land. This video can be watched in full below.

Meeting to approve merger of Minerals West Coast and West Coast Commercial Goldminers' Association

As notified in Minerals West Coast’s May newsletter, a meeting will be held in July to confirm the merger of the West Coast Commercial Goldminers’ Association with Minerals West Coast. This amalgamation was agreed to in principle at the annual general meetings of both respective organisations in Reefton in September last year.
The meeting will be held at the Westland RSA on Wednesday the 14th of July, starting at 7:00pm. 

If government this government implements its policy proposals as drafted, coal boilers in New Zealand industry could be a thing of the past within the next two decades.
The discussion document, ‘Phasing out fossil fuels in process heat’ is the fourth document of its kind in the past in just over two years. Documents of this type have been published in January 2019, December 2019, by the Climate Change Commission as recently as February this year (and submissions are still being reviewed).

The government is proposing to ban all new coal boilers, and phase out existing boilers no later than 2037 under proposed changes to the Resource Management Act, essentially through the consenting process – the proposal is effectively to deny new consents for coal boilers for low and medium temperature (everything under 300°C) by 2037.
This would capture every boiler in the South Island currently using coal for space heating, hothouse growing, dairy product manufacturing, and meat processing.
Minerals West Coast’s submission can be read below.

After years of inaction since the November 2017 pledge that there would be no new mines on conservation land evidence suggests the government is still moving to implement the policy, however slow such movement may seem.

Documents released this month to the Greymouth Star under the Official Information Act have shown up to as recently as March this year both the Department of Conservation and the Ministry for Business, Innovation, and Employment have been working on progressing the policy.

These documents show the progress to date has been slow due to a lack of agreement within government, and a desire to clarify the status of stewardship land.

Minerals West Coast has prepared a breakdown of the most relevant parts of the documents released, available below.

A good example of why access to conservation land is vital for all resources, be it coal, gold, rock and aggregate, is covered in the latest installment of Mining matters on Minerals West Coast's YouTube channel.

As Federation Mining progresses its three kilometre long journey underground to establish its mine at Snowy River, activity in the Reefton Goldfield is in the headlines.
Other companies, such as Reefton Gold, and Siren Gold, are also actively carrying out exploration programmes to find gold deposits in the area.

This month NZ Herald reporter Kate McNamara visited the West Coast to cover the ‘mini goldrush’ underway in the Buller. The article is available here for those who have a subscription to the NZ Herald.

A field day in mid-June is fast approaching, but it’s not too late to register. Minerals West Coast is running a field day to visit mine sites in the Reefton area on Wednesday the 16th of June.

The field trip will visit local coal mines, looking at mine site management of health and safety, water treatment, and rehabilitation on conservation land. In the afternoon, Minerals West Coast will visit Federation Mining’s Snowy River mine site for a look at how the three kilometre tunneling project is progressing.

If you’ve been thinking of attending and haven’t registered yet, or just want to know more, check out the details.

This month The Drug Detection Agency put on a workshop at Tai Poutini Polytechnic to enable miners to manage and respond to drug and alcohol abuse in the mining industry.
Therese Gibbens of the Drug Detection Agency took attendants through how to identify behaviours associated with the different uses of drugs, what responsibilities employers have for drug use in the workplaces, and approaches for dealing with these issues.
Those who require drug detection services or advice or systems for managing drug and alcohol issues in the workplace can contact Therese on either 021 467 042 or Therese.Gibbens@tdda.com

An amalgamation of Minerals West Coast with the West Coast Commercial Goldminers’ Association was discussed at the AGMs of both respective organisations in Reefton last September.Minerals West Coast and the West Coast Commercial Goldminers’ Association will be meeting on the 14th of July to discuss progressing the merger. Members of both organisations are invited to attend.The meeting is scheduled for 7:00pm on Wednesday the 14th of July, at the Hokitika RSA (Sewell Street). More information on this meeting will be sent out shortly.