Fast-track gold mine plan ‘huge concern’ for Golden Bay

Wednesday, 29 May 2024

Sam’s Creek is “national park quality”, says Andrew Yuill, who believes mining at the site will place the environment at risk.

The hard-won protection of one of the country’s clearest water supplies could be under threat if fast-tracked legislation opens the doors to a gold mine in Golden Bay, advocates say.

Last month, Australian mining company Siren Gold submitted applications for two mining operations to be considered under the coalition government’s Fast-Track Approvals Bill. One of the proposed sites is in Reefton, the other is at Sam’s Creek in the Cobb Valley, near Upper Tākaka.

The bill, a piece of legislation aimed at speeding up the decision-making process involved in infrastructure and development projects, would put the final decisions on certain projects in the hands of the Ministers for Infrastructure, Transport, and Regional Development: Chris Bishop, Simeon Brown, and Shane Jones.

In its current form, the legislation would allow these ministers to approve projects previously denied by courts - or protected by conservation orders, as is the case with Te Waikoropupū Springs.

In October, the springs became the latest New Zealand waterway to gain protection under a water conservation order. Fed by a huge aquifer, the springs is home to some of the clearest water in the world and is home to indigenous biodiversity.

Opponents of the proposed mine fear the freshwater source could be at risk without the existing environmental checks and balances.

In December, Jones, an NZ First MP, said mining was “coming back”.

“We most certainly need those rare earth minerals,” he said in an address to Parliament. “In those areas called the Department of Conservation (DOC) estate, where it's stewardship land, stewardship land is not DOC land, and if there is a mineral, if there is a mining opportunity and it's impeded by a blind frog, goodbye, Freddy.”

Te Waikoropupū Springs is fed by an aquifer, which is also the source of drinking water for Golden Bay residents.

The Sam’s Creek prospect comprises 10.7 million tonnes of rock in a 30-square kilometre block bordering Kahurangi National Park. It’s estimated the rock contains around 20 tonnes of gold.

Long-time Golden Bay resident Andrew Yuill called the area “extraordinary: it’s national park quality”.

The creek feeds the Tākaka River, which winds down the gorge to Upper Tākaka, flowing past Yuill’s property.

“We swim it in every summer, as do a heck of a lot of other people,” Yuill said.

Shane Jones insists new fossil fuel projects are essential to the economy, while Chris Bishop says fast-tracking renewable projects will reduce emissions.

Yuill, who was a joint applicant with Ngāti Tama Ki Te Waipounamu Trust for the Te Waikoropupū Springs conservation order, is concerned about the waste products from a large-scale mining operation and their potential effects.

The gold will not be extracted in nuggets: the rock would need to be removed, and then ground to a fine powder, before being treated with cyanide to make the gold soluble, Yuill said.

Arsenic is also present in large quantities with the gold, and disposing of this, along with the waste slurry from the extraction process, would be difficult and risky, he said.

The site has been explored by various mining companies since the 1980s, enticed by the “tantalisingly high” gold, estimated to be worth around $3 billion, Yuill said.

But until now, with the cost of extraction high, due in part to the checks and balances, it hasn’t made economic sense to dig it out.

“The only thing that’s changed is that the Government’s offered to bypass all environmental protection orders.”

Parapara resident Axel Downard-Wilke said at his usual Friday night haunt The Mussel Inn, the mine at Sam’s Creek was the chief topic of conversation.

“There is a huge amount of concern in the Bay”.

The order in place at Te Waikoropupū Springs is one of just 16 across the country, and was issued after a hard-fought, decade-long process.

“[The process] caused angst, grief, hard work … [but] in the end, there was a broad consensus that it was the right thing to do.

“Now, after a decade of work, along comes a mining project, accompanied by legislation that will mean conservation orders don’t have to be considered.

“People are a little bit worked up about that.”

With no town water supply, Golden Bay residents drew on the aquifer for their drinking water.

“People understand it’s important to keep the aquifer clean.”

A spokesperson for Jones said the bill is still being considered by select committee and its final shape is yet to be determined.

“The Minister has declined to comment on an individual application.”

Siren Gold did not respond to a request for comment. Their April announcement said the site’s “large endowment of gold has the potential to add significant revenue and employment opportunities for the country.”