A proposed open-cast mineral sands mine on farmland at Barrytown, about halfway between Greymouth and Punakaiki, could produce $63 million of export earnings each year, the Australian-owned mining company says.
TiGa Minerals and Metals (TiGa) intends to re-lodge a resource consent application, which it has asked to be publicly notified.
The initial consent was not notified and drew protest from Coast Rd residents.
Consent was refused because of insufficient supporting information.
A fresh application will be lodged with the West Coast Regional Council about the middle of this month.
TiGa staff were on the West Coast recently meeting people, including some Barrytown residents.
A report prepared for the company said the Barrytown mine, once fully operational, was likely to produce $63 million of annual export earnings from the production and export of gold, garnet, ilmenite and zircon, boosting Grey district exports by 46%.
The report also estimated the mine would create 57 direct jobs and 80 new support jobs elsewhere in the economy, the majority of which were likely to be filled by local or regional residents.
Overall, the report said the economic benefits of the mine to the district and region were "substantial" and outweighed potential economic costs.
"In my view, economic costs associated with the proposal are unlikely to be significant or widely distributed and are limited to potential visual amenity and noise effects, which have been addressed by other experts," report author John Ballingall said.
TiGa managing director Robert Brand said the company had commissioned research to ensure there was a complete portfolio of information about the proposal and its impacts when it went through the resource consent process with local councils.
"TiGa is committed to ensuring mana whenua, the community and key stakeholders have the opportunity to participate in the consent process to ensure everyone is listened to and the process is open and transparent," Mr Brand said.
"As TiGa moves forward with the application, it intends to form close working relationships with the community, including the formation of a working group to better engage with the community on the project following the hearing process," Mr Brand said.
The supporting report said the mine would lead to an 81% increase in mining employment in the Grey district, contribute $6.6 million a year in directly employed wages, and $27.4 million a year mining operation spending (e.g. equipment hire, repairs and maintenance).
It would contribute $33.7 million of additional GDP each year and $1.5 million in annual mining royalties to the New Zealand government.
— Greymouth Star
