Opposition to a mining venture on the Barrytown flats, about 25km north of Greymouth, has taken a significant dive, with the withdrawal of objections from manawhenua.
Independent commissioners began a three-day hearing today in Greymouth, of the application by Barrytown JV Ltd to mine 63ha of farmland on the Coast Road for ilmenite, garnet ore and other minerals.
Te Runanga o Ngati Waewae had opposed the application in its entirety, citing concerns about the impact on local waterways and coastal lagoon. But it has now withdrawn its objections after the company made changes to its proposed conditions.
Poutini Environmental manager Philippa Lynch said in an updated submission ‘‘having considered the amendments by Barrytown JV to address the concerns, most notably the decision to no longer divert Collins Creek, Ngati Waewae is no longer opposed to the application.’’
The mining company had a team of expert witnesses on hand both in person and via video link as it made its opening submissions at the hearing this morning.
In his submission, BTJV director David Straface said the Barrytown Flats contained deposits of some of the highest grade ilmenite in the world, and were unique in that they also contained garnet ore.
Ilmenite was used as a pigment in paints and plastic and was also turned into titanium for use in the aerospace industry and the manufacture of human joint replacements.
There was a growing market for garnet as a safe alternative to sand blasting, and precision cutting in engineering.
Mining the area over a period of eight years would benefit the West Coast and New Zealand economy by $53million in taxes and royalties and create 47 jobs, Mr Straface submitted.
The company would mine in strips across the land, using a field unit similar to a gold-screen dredge and backfilling as it went.
The material would be pumped in a slurry to a 13m-high wet concentrator plant on site, which would avoid potential dust problems, and the building itself would be partly below ground to minimise the visual impact.
Buffer zones 20m wide would be created around the property boundaries before mining started, and native plantings would screen the site from the highway, beach and neighbours.
The plant — but not the field unit — would operate around the clock with two work shifts. Lighting would be minimal at night, to minimise the risk to the Westland petrel (taiko) as they left and returned to their burrows.
Water levels would be managed to maintain volumes going into creeks and the lagoon, which had been created by previous miners on the site in the late 1800s.
The site would be restored to productive farmland and handed back to the owners once mining was finished, Mr Straface said.
- By Lois Williams, Local Democracy Reporter
