Mining sector says Taranaki seabed plan rejection 'embarrassing'

A group representing the mining sector insists the decision declining plans to mine the Taranaki seabed is not final.

While the fast-track approvals panel turned down Trans-Tasman Resources' (TTR) bid to mine 50 million tonnes a year, for 30 years, in the South Taranaki Bight, Minerals Council chief executive Josie Vidal said that was only the draft decision.

"We have to trust the process," she told RNZ. "We have to hope that facts, evidence and science prevail."

Resource Management Act Reform Minister Chris Bishop said the final decision was due on 18 March.

Vidal said it was embarrassing that the decision had come out while New Zealand officials had been sent to Washington to discuss how the country could be part of a global supply chain of critical minerals.

Trans-Tasman Resources said it had identified a world-class vanadium resource that could contribute a billion dollars annually to the New Zealand economy.

"Vanadium is a very sought-after critical mineral around the world," Vidal said. "If we want to be part of a global supply chain and we have critical minerals, we should be mining them."

Vidal said the government understood it had a role to play and that the mining plan would be good for the economy.

It would also create more jobs, Vidal added, at a time when the unemployment rate was at the highest in a decade.

"We have to hope that people believe it, and not get sidetracked by thoughts, feelings and emotions, rather than actual science."

The panel found there would be a credible risk of harm to Māui dolphins, kororā and fairy prion, but Vidal said mining companies were well used to mitigating any kind of harm.

"There's a lot of the word 'may' and equally with 'may', there's 'may not'.

"I think they need to be clear what they're basing the 'may' on, because there's been evidence produced that there won't be harm to animals."

The panel also found there was uncertainty as to the scale and extent of the sediment plume and underwater noise generated from the project.

It said the adverse impacts of the plan were out of proportion with its regional and national benefits.

TTR executive chairman Alan Eggers said he found it difficult to accept the panel intended to decline the project's environmental approvals with concerns on almost every aspect.

"All the concerns raised by the expert panel were fully addressed in our application, which was supported by leading expert evidence and comprehensive responses to issues raised during the hearings process."

Eggers said it was hard to reconcile why the panel did not accept the evidence the company provided.

TTR now had until 19 February to comment on the decision.

The company would consider its options on what next steps it might take before the application decision was finalised, Eggers said.

Despite the draft decision, Vidal remained optimistic about the future of mining in New Zealand.

"New Zealand is really becoming a country where 'can't' is the default setting. It's very frustrating to always be told you can't do something.

"I think it's no wonder that people are leaving in droves for more optimistic land. It sort of feels like our long white cloud is a big cloud of negativity and doom."

Green Party, Te Pāti Māori 'ecstatic'

Green Party co-leader Marama Davidson told RNZ the decision to decline the mining plan was a win for the environment and the community.

"We're absolutely delighted to see the proposal not backed," she said.

Davidson said TTR would put profit before people and the environment, if it tried to appeal it.

"How silly would they look - the message is already very clear. This is destructive, overrides local community voices and Te Tiriti, and it's harmful and dangerous to our environment, which people actually care about.

"They have no support."

Davidson said, if the government relied on seabed mining as a way to grow the economy, it was "at a dead end".

"It's short-sighted, it's stupid and it will not work."

Te Pāti Māori co-leader Debbie Ngarewa-Packer told RNZ that the decision was also a win for those who had spent years opposing the plan.

Led by Ngāti Ruanui iwi, the seabed mining proposal faced opposition across Taranaki and Te Tai Hauāuru, she said.

Hundreds of people marched through the town of Pātea to protest in October 2024, after it was revealed that the project was subject to fast-track legislation.

"This has been a really long battle," she said. "We are all ecstatic, having the best Waitangi Day ever."

Ngarewa-Packer said the project should never have made the list in the first place.

"It should actually be banned, as something that New Zealand should never, ever be supporting," she said.

"Our moana is not for sale."

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