West Coast mining to be a billion-dollar industry

Mining West Coast gold and coal will become a billion-dollar business by 2020, even though protected conservation land will not be opened up, an industry group says.

The Government said on Tuesday that it would axe its plans to open 7000 hectares of conservation land in the West Coast's Paparoa National Park, Coromandel and Great Barrier Island to prospecting for minerals.

Instead, it would make an aeromagnetic survey of the West Coast outside the protected non-schedule 4 conservation land to learn which areas had high concentrations of valuable minerals.

Minerals West Coast manager Peter O'Sullivan said mining was already worth $700 million in annual export earnings to the West Coast – a figure that would increase to $1.2 billion within 10 years.

"That's without schedule 4 land [where mining is effectively banned under the Crown Minerals Act] becoming available," he said.

The West Coast mining industry employed 2000 people, and this would jump to 3000 in 10 years, he said.

"We are disappointed at the decision, but the mining industry never asked for schedule 4 land to be opened up," O'Sullivan said.

He said that when West Coast miner Pike River Coal hit full production, and Australian miner Bathurst began operations near Westport, coal production would increase from 2.5 million tonnes annually to 4.5 million tonnes. This would mean $990m in annual export earnings to the region.

O'Sullivan said gold products would further increase the region's earnings, with the current 125,000 ounces a year rising to 150,000 ounces as miners expanded their gold-recovery operations to pre-1995 levels.

He said Reefton company Oceana Gold would continue at its current production levels, exploration was continuing for methane gas in a coal seam near Dobson and Seafield Exploration was exploring for gold offshore.

"The future of minerals on the West Coast is very bright, so we are very pleased about the geo-magnetic survey the Government has planned," he said.

- © Fairfax NZ News