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NZ mining and conservation
NZ mining companies routinely participate in biodiversity conservation as part of their operations. Such work may be done as part of conditions on access to public conservation land, and/or in relation to RMA consents, and/or as part of corporate social responsibility. Many companies have as a goal to achieve a net positive impact on the environment from their activities.
Pike River Coal - DOC conservation award 2008
The Pike River Coal underground mine is located in old growth beech/podocarp forest in Victoria Conservation Park, West Coast, New Zealand. The total footprint of the mine is 21 ha, including the access road. (At the time of writing, the company is in receivership, following the loss of 29 miners caused by an underground explosion on 19 november 2010, and the mine is closed.)
The access road is 7m wide to reduce the footprint of the road to 10 ha, of which 8 ha was previously logged. The road weaves through native forest to avoid 800-year-old rimu and miro trees. With trucks unable to access the road, coal slurry is piped to a processing facility outside of conservation land (pictured above).
As part of offsetting the 21 ha footprint of the Pike River Coal mine, the company has been paying for stoat control to benefit endangered blue duck/whio in Paparoa National Park and environs.
The blue duck/whio is one of 4 species of torrent duck worldwide. These species are unusual for living in and along rivers, especially fast-flowing upland rivers. The females nest on river banks making them and their eggs and chicks vulnerable to stoats, an introduced pest. When Pike River Coal started work only a solitary male remained in the area. Numbers have been increasing thanks to the company's partnership with the Department of Conservation.
Newmont Mining - co-founder of Global Mining Initiative
The nearest tailings impoundment to the viewer is filled with rain water, an area frequented by native waterfowl and shore birds. The embankment supporting this body of water is being rehabilitated into pasture, and native forest. this infrastructure is part of the Martha opencast gold mine at Waihi.
Clockwise from top left: juvenile NZ dotterel; pied stilt; paradise ducks; paradise ducks and pied stilit; adult NZ dotterel. The birds were photographed at the Martha mine tailings dam.
Newmont Waihi Gold and the Department of Conservation are working together on NZ dotterel conservation. An endangered native shorebird, an estimated 1000-1500 of the North Island sub-species remain.
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