Mining Activities Approved For 150,000ha Conservation Land
New mining activities
have been approved across more than 150,000 hectares of
public conservation land since 2017, OIA documents obtained
by Forest & Bird reveal. Activities applied for or
approved range from exploration for lithium on numerous
conservation areas south-west of Rotorua; drilling for coal
on the unique sandstone erosion pavements of the West
Coast’s Denniston Plateau; a possible tungsten mine near
Glenorchy; and numerous gold exploration activities in and
around Coromandel Forest Park and Victoria Forest
Park. In addition, there are numerous public
conservation areas currently subject to minerals permits
from New Zealand Petroleum and Minerals where the companies
involved have not yet sought permission from the Department
of Conservation. This includes Puketi Forest in Northland,
and lithium exploration in a conservation area near
Whangarei. “The Government made the promise to stop
new mines on public conservation land in 2017, but continues
to approve prospecting and exploration activities in these
rare and precious areas. Allowing mineral exploration in
these landscapes sends a strong signal that protected areas
which are home to native species today will be mine pits
tomorrow,” says Forest & Bird Chief Executive Kevin
Hague. “The majority of our conservation land is not
currently safe from damaging mining activities – that
includes ecological areas, scenic reserves, forest parks,
and stewardship land,” says Mr Hague. “Despite
being derided by some as being a ‘wasteland’,
stewardship land is no such thing – it has simply not yet
been formally categorised. These areas often have the
highest biodiversity values of any conservation land and are
home to species such as kiwi, long-tailed bats, giant
carnivorous snails, and lowland kahikatea forest. "In
many cases, mining these areas causes permanent loss, and in
others it takes decades to recover. Temporary predator
control schemes offered as compensation for some of the most
damaging mines do not make up for this. “At a time
when New Zealand is trying to plant more forests, it makes
no sense to clear-fell existing native forest. As time runs
out to prevent dangerous climate change, it makes no sense
to start new mines for coal. "New Zealand’s
endangered species can’t afford to lose more of their
forest and wetland habitats to mining. Public conservation
land is needed for nature. Aotearoa has more than 4,000
species threatened with extinction by industries that just
extract more and more from nature. Our environment is at
breaking point, and time is running out to protect
it. “We believe a line needs to be drawn now – no
new mines on conservation land, as Prime Minister Ardern
promised in her Speech from the Throne in 2017,” says Mr
Hague. A table of prospecting and exploration
applications made to the Department of Conservation between
8 November 2017 and 8 July 2020 is available here.
More information on some of the applications listed is also
available on request. In total, the number of
prospecting, exploration and mining applications over the
two and a half years is shown below. Table of
mining permission 8 Nov 2017 – 8 July 2020 Type of mining
permission Number applications
received Number
approved Number
declined Number withdrawn/
returned Number
pending Minimum Impact
Activity 11 7 0 0 4 Exploration
Access
Arrangement 24 15 0 7 7 Mining
Access
Arrangement 49 36 0 5 18
Notes: