Another company reignites plans for mine offered $10m Govt loan
Tuesday, 26 September 2023
A company is hoping to open another sand mine on the West Coast, promising a $37.9 million boost to the region’s economy.
Westland Mineral Sands, which operates a mine at Cape Foulwind near Westport, is planning on lodging a resource consent for a 110-hectare farmland site it owns at Mananui, near Hokitika’s Lake Mahinapua.
The site was previously proposed for a garnet mine that was granted a $10m loan from the Government’s provincial growth fund, but Westland Minerals Sands says its plans are very different.
The Department of Conservation raised concerns about neighbouring wetlands and whitebait spawning grounds when it assessed the garnet mine and the US company behind the bid pulled out, citing changing global market conditions.
Neighbour Gene Wilson said a company representative visited him last week and he still had concerns about noise and truck movements.
“I told him ‘don’t bother telling me how loud the ocean is, we moved there to hear the ocean - not machinery operating 24/7 and trucks coming and going’.
“I’m not a staunch greenie or anti-mining but I work in tourism and it’s a beautiful stretch of road leaving town with the sea on one side and the mountains on the other,” Wilson said.
Westland Mineral Sands (WMS) director Ray Mudgway said his company’s proposal had major differences, including mining for other minerals like titanium oxide, ilmenite, garnet and gold.
“We have a ‘mine once, mine all policy’, so you don’t have to go back a second time.”
The company would submit a 15-year consent to extract about 300,000 tonnes of heavy mineral concentrate per year, which is about three times larger than its Westport mine.
It would only partly process the material and ship it in bulk from Greymouth Port.
The mine would operate 24 hours a day, seven days a week, using an electric pump system, which was “very quiet and efficient” compared to dump trucks and excavators, Mudgway said.
The company had plans to create planted bunds to minimise the visual impact and protect nearby wetlands.
“It’s a really high quality wetland so it needs to be treated with a hell of a lot of respect … our proposal doesn’t impact that wetland in a negative way at all. In fact, what we want to do is enhance the ecology of the area.”
The company was meeting neighbours and inviting them to view the Westport mine. It was also asking the West Coast Regional Council to publicly notify its applications.
“We promise the community that we’ll be upfront and transparent,” Mudgway said.
WMS Group chairperson Duncan Hardie said an independent economic analysis showed the mine would provide a $37.9m boost to the West Coast economy.
“It’s important to us to build lasting, positive relationships with our communities and our environment. By working together, we can support the ecology of this unique area and ensure it is looked after for future generations, while allowing for job creation and further growth in our region’s economy.”
The report by economics consultancy Sense Partners, commissioned by WMS Group, showed the operation would generate $71m in export revenue each year, boosting the West Coast GDP by 1.8% and creating between 65 and 70 “well-paying” jobs.
Another 65 to 69 jobs would be supported in areas such as engineering, geotechnical and maintenance by the company’s $15.4m of local spending.
WMS Group also owns West Coast Bulk Logistics Ltd, which leases and operates the ports of Greymouth and Westport and owns and operates a motorised barge for ship-to-ship transfer of the material for export.