Sand mine near Hokitika granted resource consent
Friday, 18 July 2025
A mining company has gained approval to mine 300,000 tonnes of minerals every year for 16 years from coastal land near Hokitika.
Westland Mineral Sands Co Ltd (WMS) has been granted resource consent by the West Coast Regional and Westland District councils to mine ilmenite, garnet, gold and other minerals from 112 hectares at Mananui, about 8km south of Hokitika. The company already operates a sand mine at Okari, near Westport.
An independent panel of commissioners held a hearing in June and released their decision on Friday.
They say the sand deposits to be mined are on farmland owned by the company, surrounded by a sensitive natural environment with outstanding and precious natural features and high cultural values including wetlands and indigenous vegetation.
It’s next to Mahināpua Creek/Tūwharewhare, Lake Mahināpua, a freshwater wetland system of great significance to tangata whenua and a densely forested park where a nationally threatened lizard was discovered.
Poutini Ngāi Tahu expressed concerns about the plan, proposing additional measures and conditions to avoid adverse effects on Tūwharewhare and Lake Mahināpua, including extra monitoring.
But the commissioners concluded the mining operation would not “materially harm” the surrounding ecology.
“Based on the technical evidence, the only significant environmental impact WMS’s proposal could create is landscape effects. Given our determination that the remnant vegetation is not significant … the physical effects are assessed as low.”
The decision says WMS formed a team of specialists in hydrology, ecology, geotechnical engineering, water chemistry, and mining systems to “create a mining solution that meets strict environmental standards and avoids damaging nearby sensitive ecosystems”.
The company would use a dredge mining system to preserve the existing groundwater hydrology, reinstate the land progressively after mining, plant indigenous vegetation and establish new wetlands.
Residents from 21 properties in nearby Ruatapu put in a joint submission, mostly concerned about traffic on that area of State Highway 6, which they said was already hazardous to pedestrians and cyclists. They called for a safe lane and safe crossing points for pedestrians and cyclists, and to reduce the speed limit to 80kph near the mine. Other neighbours who submitted were concerned about potential noise, dust and ecological damage.
The commissioners’ decision says the small number of nearby neighbours who objected to the proposal could reduce its impacts by planting.
“A positive aspect of the proposal is the closure of existing farm drains, thereby reducing the transport of contaminants from farming activities into Tūwharewhare,” it notes.
“We must also consider the WMS economic benefits and the high-value job creation, benefiting the community.”
Development West Coast and Grey district mayor Tania Gibson strongly supported the application due to the estimated $37.9 million it would add to the local economy every year and 70 jobs it would create.
The commissioners imposed about 30 pages of conditions, including the company providing a bond of $286,650 with the councils to remedy any adverse effects on the environment.
It must build bunds to protect the creek, restore at least 4.75ha of indigenous broadleaf-podocarp forest, and create two new wetlands.
The commissioners imposed a limit of 70 trucks a day to and from the site.