Sand from mine stockpile blows through Westport’s main street

Monday, 15 January 2024

A mining company is reassuring Westport residents that sand that coated the town centre in recent high winds was not a health hazard.

Westland Mineral Sands is mining for heavy minerals including ilmenite, garnet and rare earth elements at Cape Foulwind near Westport.

On January 3, sand from exposed stockpiles near the Buller River blew through the town, covering properties and clogging gutters.

WMS Group has apologised for the incident, citing human error. Covers were not properly secured to the outdoor piles on a particularly windy day.

Westland Mineral Sands has consent from the West Coast Regional Council and the Buller District Council to mine 500,000 tonnes of heavy mineral concentrate over 10 years. Conditions include a dust management plan.

The sand is currently trucked to Nelson for export, but will head abroad directly from Westport when WMS Group obtains a barge for transferring the material onto a ship offshore.

Westport businessman Glenn Pratt said the sand “blew everywhere” from the stockpiles behind his hotel.

“You know what sand is like - it goes everywhere. But they’ve cleaned it up. They waterblasted [the hotel].

“They … were very efficient with correspondence. I emailed them to say there was a problem and they responded straight away. They made a stuff-up but they owned it and it’s probably a learning curve for them.”

Shop owner Pat O’Dea said his employee cleaned half a bucket of sand weighing 5.5kg from a small section of the shop’s gutters.

Sand also blew inside the shop and had to be swept up, he said.

“When it was blowing around I rang the local council about my concerns it could be a health hazard as well as a nuisance,” O’Dea said. “I didn’t get a lot of support there.”

O’Dea was also pleased with WMS Group’s response, cleaning up, checking his guttering for blockages and apologising.

WMS Group spokesman Ray Mudgway said the company would ensure sand piles were better secured in future.

“WCBL was alerted to observations of sand blowing across two streets near the port and replacement tarpaulins were placed over the product on the wharf to prevent further loss.”

He said crews helped to clear streets of sand and supported local businesses with clean up efforts as well as meeting with them to hear their concerns.

About half a trailer-load of sand was collected from Palmerston and Lyndhurst streets, he said.

“The error is a one-off but is disappointing given the company has worked hard in its first 12 months of operation to develop robust processes.

“We apologise to those who have been affected and we would like to reassure the public that while the sand is a nuisance, it does not present a health risk.”

He said the company was working closely with the West Coast Regional Council and Buller District Council to prevent sand drifting in future.