Police are investigating how a bucket of explosives came to be in a north Oamaru scrap yard.
The bucket, estimated to be about 10 litres in capacity and its contents, thought to be gelignite, was found on Monday after an Everitt Enterprises' digger driver drove his machine over part of it, popping the lid.
Driver Danny Jones opened one of the plastic bags inside, found a label with ''Danger Explosives'' on it and called police about 10am.
That prompted about 300m around the Industrial Pl site to be cordoned off and buildings evacuated until an army explosives disposal unit arrived just before 2pm, made the explosives safe and took them to Craigs Beach, at the end of McEneany Rd, to be destroyed.
The scrap yard has had several owners and Sergeant Craig Sew Hoy, of Oamaru, said yesterday it was not known how long the explosives had been there.
Inquiries were being made to establish when they were deposited.
''There was nothing sinister about it. It appeared [the explosives] had been dropped off and been there for some time,'' he said.
He praised businesses and people in the area for their co-operation and patience in evacuating the area while it was cordoned off.
