https://share.google/1CwTO1kJx4rIo8iew

This documentary premiered at Parliament recently; here is the press release from that event, featuring Jenny Patrick OBE, the author of the historical novel, “Denniston Rose”:

https://www.forestandbird.org.nz/resources/denniston-rose-author-backs-petition-stop-mega-coal-mine

Forest and Bird have launched a national petition that asks for more than just stopping the mine; it demands a permanent solution, calling on the Government to reclassify the public conservation land on the Denniston Plateau as a Scientific Reserve.

This is the only rational, long-term solution to protect its unique ecosystems and ensure we are not fighting this same battle every decade.

• Please sign and share the petition here: https://www.forestandbird.org.nz/petitions/make-denniston-scientific-reserve

Bathurst’s proposal for open-cast mining of the Denniston Plateau and Mt. Frederick is already on shaky ground. They face significant financial hurdles, and are in litigation with their business partner, Talley’s, in what seems like an attempt to get money out – Talley’s are aware of the risks if Bathurst spend a bunch of money developing these new mines and then soft demand results in Bathurst going belly-up, with nothing for Talley’s.

Globally, the coking coal market is turning. This year, China announced it will not consent new coal-powered steel foundries, and the global coking coal price has softened in response to oversupply.

It doesn’t take many of these factors stacking up to make the entire operation economically unviable.

WITH YOUR HELP, WE WILL WIN THIS!

Kia Kaha,

Coal Action Network Aotearoa

The post The Save Denniston campaign kicks into high gear appeared first on Coal Action Network Aotearoa.

NB: This action was organised by 350 Aotearoa and Climate Liberation Aotearoa. For more information on these groups, or to join, support or follow their work, click on the links!

Protest Notes, by Masha Oliver

We’re sitting on the edge of a man-made drainage lake, staring at the landscape scar in front of us. A hill, cut in half and completely deformed, exposing layers and layers of rock, from grey sandstone at the top through wide streaks of white to a thick vain of deep black coal. It’s like looking at an abstract painting, as well as looking back in time. A human could not paint it better. Above it, stretches a banner: “Just transition off coal.”

It’s the first day of our encampment on Denniston Plateau as part of non-violent direct action for climate justice and to protect the unique landscape and biodiversity of the Plateau. Morning graciously offers us a window of sunny weather, which we use to roll out the banners, take some photos, chant and sing out loud what needs to be heard – Protect Denniston plateau! I look around and see all these people – from kids to elders – who I’ve never met before, coming together for the same reason, to protect something we all deeply care about. There’s a wonderful feeling of pride and power resonating through us. The spirits are high as we buckle down for the cyclone that is on its way and prepare for the main actions later in the weekend.

Photo: Neil Silverwood

We’ve come here because we all – the whole planet – are running out of time. We’ve come here because there is no planet B or a spare atmosphere we could replace and wrap our Earth in. We’re here because we know everything on this planet is intricately linked and can only exist in coexistence, which requires a stable climate. We are here because the new mine on Denniston Plateau, proposed by Australian-based mining company Bathurst, if developed, will create the same amount of emissions as the whole Aotearoa New Zealand produces in a year. Over 25 years it will extract 20 million tons of coal – in an era when the rest of the world is transitioning off fossil fuels, when global warming has already overshot the predicted models, environmental collapse is happening all around us and climate events are threatening the livelihoods and homes of our communities and communities around the world.

The mine is one of the listed fast-track projects. The fast-track legislation circumvents the laws designed to protect the environment and health of people. There is no participation process in the fast-track legislation. The legislation prevents public scrutiny and bypasses environmental considerations. Fast track is an assault on the environment and democracy and it has so far, resurrected certain projects that have previously been declined as they proved environmentally unacceptable. This is happening in a country that is perceived on the world stage as the “green queen” with strong democratic roots.

Photo: Geoff Keey

The specific piece of land where the mine is proposed is public land. It belongs to all New Zealanders and is managed on behalf of Kiwis by the Department of Conservation. It is public conservation land, put aside for protection in perpetuity due to its natural values. When DOC was established in 1987, huge parts of public conservation land were put aside, waiting to get properly assessed and classified either as National Park, Conservation Area, Ecological Area or any other classification designed to protect the natural or historical values of the public conservation land. This never happened, but a reclassification process started a couple of years ago. A national panel of experts suggested this land becomes a Conservation Area –  assuring the lowest protection possible – while environmental NGOs like Forest and Bird, Environmental Defense Society and Federated Mountain Clubs among others, suggested this to be a Scientific Reserve – which protects the land to even greater extent then National Park and permits no mining. This classification was suggested due to the incredible ecological richness of the area, with many endangered and endemic species living here, many of which have not even been identified yet.

Photo: Geoff Keey

I am no scientist or ecologist. But I am a lucid observer and I have spent my entire life roaming through natural landscapes. I can tell, usually just by moving through the land, how special and alive the land is. Coming to the camp spot, I was blown away by the landscape we traversed. Sandstone pavements, rocky outcrops, bonsai-looking bush stunted by extreme living conditions, and the wild Tasman Sea in the distance. This 40 million years old plateau laying 600-1000m high, is a place close to heaven – braided with streams and gorges, dappled with areas of high wetlands, extensive pieces of land mass rolling out as far as an eye can travel, with areas covered in red tussock, takahe’s favourite delicacy. The landscape seems surreal – something I have not seen elsewhere in New Zealand and I have tramped in many places. Looking at it from the birds-eye perspective on Google Earth, it stands out from afar – if you let your eyes travel up and down the island you will not see anything like it. It is truly unique.

And so is the abundant life up here. As we make our way to the camp, a fern bird, an extremely rare bird, flies by. This is a sanctuary for Great spotted kiwi, rare skins, ancient velvet worms, giant snails, weta, geckos, rare moths … The area is, as surveys in the past showed, of high ecological value. Many species here have not been identified yet. Bathurst’s mining project, if it goes ahead, will cause irreversible biodiversity loss, habitat and landscape destruction, increased carbon emissions, and acid metallic drainage that needs critical management for 100 years. Endemic plants and animals will be lost. This will all happen on Aotearoa New Zealand public conservation land with no public input. The profits will go to a private company, with 90% overseas shareholders.

Photo: Geoff Keey

And that’s why we are here. When there is no option for advocacy and dialogue anymore, action needs to take place. Our encampment is a compact flock of colourful tents in an area that was used by Bathurst as an operational pad for the nearby mining. From where we’re camped, we can see the hill, covered in bush, that will be beheaded, if this project goes ahead. There are about 70 of us here and I don’t know one single person, but walking through the camp, I feel I have slipped into a community, where everyone knows each other and a strong quiet sense of camaraderie resonates between us. As the rain settles in, so do we, under the big marquee, where the learning and collaboration begin. We’re learning about facilitation and de-escalation strategies. We discuss and practice how to react and talk to media, police or locals if any of them turn up. We look at the issue from many sides – what would you say to a local who works in the mine and needs to put food on the table? We head out for a botanical walk, to familiarize ourselves with what is at stake. More learning follows – about the context of the fast track bill, the mining plans and Bathurst. A workshop facilitated by a local environmental group takes us through details and different perspectives of the issues – what we are about to lose, what are the gains, and what are the false gains portrayed by Bathurst and the government. The hardest part to digest it the presentation from a university researcher. We are warned it will be grim, so we brace ourselves.

Tim, who has dedicated his master’s study to climate change, takes us step by step through the facts – what we already know and what the models show. It is not pretty. In fact, it is terrifying. We have already passed 1.5-degrees warming and plants have reached the peak of carbon dioxide sequestation in 2008. Proportion absorbed has been declining since. Emissions would need to fall by 0.3% per year, just to stand still, though at the moment, they are increasing by 1.2% per year.

It is no better on the fauna front. The total global insect population has declined by 41% in the last decade and animal populations have experienced a 70% average decline since 1970. Human-made materials now outweigh Earth’s entire biomass. The amount of plastic alone is greater in mass than all land animals and marine creatures combined. Looking at the effects of global warming in New Zealand, the most jarring one is the loss of  1/3 of the entire glacier mass since 2000. The sea water heatwave in 2022 pushed the water temperature to 4.4 C above average, causing the deaths of millions of marine sponges in Fiordland.
At 3C or more of heating by 2050, there could be more than 4 billion deaths, significant sociopolitical fragmentation worldwide, failure of states – with resulting rapid, enduring, and significant loss of capital – and extinction events.

I’m listening and the facts, one by one, are landing heavy on my mind, to a point, when I feel my cheeks are hot with tears. I don’t dare to look around, as I feel that will break me, but I sense the heaviness has landed on everyone and the mood has shifted. The question is not if we are crashing or not, the question is how hard we crash.
A support and debrief session is offered after Tim’s talk to help us process what we’ve heard. I fear it will make it worse, so I walk out. When I return, I find Tara completely red-eyed. She hasn’t stopped crying.

Photo: Neil Silverwood

Ironically enough, our climate justice action coincides with the arrival of yet another cyclone. Despite persistent rain and Tim’s talk, the spirits remain high. We prepare the camp for even more rain to come – the tents are readjusted and secured by rocks, and the drainage channels are dug while the dinner is being cooked. There is very little need for coordination and instructions. Everyone seems to make themselves useful with not much talking. People see work and pick it up. Things just get done. I’m impressed with how well everything is organized and how smoothly everything seems to flow. Regular check-ins make sure we  see how we’re feeling collectively. No one seems to be taking too much space or air time. It seems all egos got left at the bottom of the hill. I wish every workplace would function like this. Decisions are made with everyone’s input, but somehow very quickly and nimbly. I have worked in many places and been part of many groups.  I have never experienced such cohesion and a sense of unity before. I haven’t even imagined something like this is possible.

Sunday is spent in preparation for the main two actions on Monday – to climb up the towers and occupy the coal buckets bringing coal from Stockton mine, stopping operations for 24 hours, which later on extends into 60 hours, and an expedition to a Happy Valley, a place of resistance and protest about 20 years ago, an operating Cypress mine today. While climbers are practising their rope work and the support crew is preparing for the off-site action, the deluge begins. The rain is hard and persistent. Only later we hear about the flooding of the roads down below the hill, in Waimangaroa. The fire brigades are called out throughout the night. The camp remains standing. As the night falls, there is a curtain of water surrounding us. We gather in one and only dry communal space, normally used as a kitchen. There’s a feeling of excitement in the air, but also the anxiety of what the morning might bring.  Everything feels heightened. Dinner is being cooked while the climbers and action groups are frantically packing in the dark, walking around with their climbing gear and harnesses still on. It is impossible not to feel in the way, or be constantly pushing through a mass of damp bodies. The camp turns into chaos for a few seconds, we’re all blinding each other with torches, frantically trying to pack or help with packing.

Photo: Neil Silverwood

The next day I wake up to the news that the bucket crew made it in the buckets. Feeling happy are not words that I use lightly, but there is no other way to feel right now. The steely sky and the promise of more rain fade away by expanding happiness and pride. Only a small group of us remain at the camp – we’re holding the fort throughout the day, as the news starts trickling in. First is the news from our groups – the bucket team, the  Happy Valley team, and the support crews. Then the media news starts popping up. And then suddenly, it’s all happening – Bathurst, Department of Conservation, our lawyer, police – everyone is on board and communicating. We get visitors to the camp – friendly locals bring us doughnuts and come to show their appreciation and support.

As I am washing the dishes, and listening to the news from our crew in the field, a robin lands on my head. A brief light touch, almost fleeting, yet a certain blessing. I know I am where I’m supposed to be.

I can still feel the brush of wild and divine on my head. It’s a reminder and a plea. To keep returning to Denniston.

I know I am not the only one, returning. We are many. And we will not give up.

Photo: Neil Silverwood

Denniston, by Ben Lowe

Denniston is the most amazing place, maybe the most amazing place in New Zealand. It is also the most pivotal place in New Zealand. The reason it is so amazing is that the flora and fauna there is unique. The reason it is so pivotal is because it perfectly encompasses the two sides of the climate debate. Under this unique environment is coal, the most climate-destroying fossil fuel.  To lose here is to lose everywhere.

Photo: Geoff Keey

The post Denniston Plateau Occupation, Easter 2025 appeared first on Coal Action Network Aotearoa.

(For the purposes of this article, I’m considering BT Mining, their jointly-owned subsidiary with the notorious fishing company Talleys, as part of Bathurst – despite the fact that Bathurst and Talleys are fighting in the courts.)

Having a compliant Government, and a Prime Minister who mouths all the mining industry’s talking points like the world’s most complacent sock puppet, has certainly helped Bathurst’s prospects and lessened the continuing grumbling from their investors about inadequate dividends.

The Government has included two planned Bathurst mining projects, Buller Plateaux and North Rotowaro, in the list of projects in the Fast-Track Approvals Act.

But all is not rosy in the garden. The problem for Bathurst is that, despite their and the Government’s worst efforts, Aotearoa is slowly continuing to move away from the use of thermal coal – that is, coal burned to provide heat for industrial processes and energy generation. For many years, the three biggest domestic users of coal have been Genesis Energy’s power station at Huntly; Bluescope’s New Zealand Steel plant at Glenbrook; and Fonterra’s many coal-fueled milk powder factories. But in recent years:

• Genesis has been experimenting with replacing coal with wood pellets at Huntly, and has recently announced a partnership to produce the necessary biomass – though there has also been talk of extending coal use at Huntly, so that’s a mixed bag.
• Under continuing pressure from consumers, especially in Europe, Fonterra is sticking to its programme to end all coal use at its factories by 2037. It ended its coal use in the North Island in November 2024, and is now beginning to tackle its largest South Island milk powder factories.
• New Zealand Steel is planning to commission its new electric arc furnace in late 2025 , potentially reducing a million tonnes of emissions from burning coal per annum.

While there are many smaller users of thermal coal in Aotearoa, and none of them should be let off the hook to decarbonise, such cuts by the “big three” have left the future of thermal coal mining in Aotearoa looking increasingly short-term. The Government, despite adding metallurgical coal to its critical minerals list against the advice of the consultants who drew up the draft list, left thermal coal off the recently-released critical minerals list.

So Bathurst are betting big on mining metallurgical (coking) coal, which the Government did include on the critical minerals list. This coal would not be for domestic use – confusingly, New Zealand Steel uses thermal coal, not metallurgical coal, in its current Glenbrook furnaces. It’s all about export, and Bathurst is betting that it can navigate a world increasingly breaking into geographic power blocks and find markets for coking coal. That is very bad news for a large stretch of beautifully, ecologically valuable land on the West Coast – if they’re allowed to get away with it.

I expect you’ll be hearing plenty more about Bathurst’s Buller Plateaux projects this year, so in this article I’ll focus on their other projects. What else has Bathurst got going on?

• Bathurst’s second fast-track project is the North Rotowaro coal mine near Huntly. This is near to their existing Rotowaro mine, and if it goes ahead, would result in around a million tonnes of GHG emissions per year – so it is a substantial project that we’ll be working hard to oppose with the tools available to us.
• Separately, they have started on a three-year project, called Waipuna West, to extend the existing Rotowaro mine.
• Bathurst’s Maramarua mine, also in Waikato, has an existing M1 pit and an M2 pit that they’re going to be seeking resource consent for. There is a long and distinguished history of protest against coal mining at Maramarua.
• Their other North Island facility is their corporate head office at 1 Willeston St, Wellington, just a well-fed post-lunch stroll down from delivering personally-labelled lumps of coal to the Beehive.

Turning to Te Waipounamu, besides its big investment in the Buller Plateau, Bathurst has the Takitimu mine in Southland. Takitimu is due to close in the 2027 fiscal year, and we are currently trying to establish whether, in the light of the decline in South Island thermal coal use, Bathurst is planning to go ahead with the possible nearby New Brighton mine, which Forest and Bird has taken legal action against.

Bathurst has more corporate offices in Christchurch, a large coal yard in Washdyke, Timaru which appears from aerial photos to be exposed to the open air.

The Bathurst commercial “ecosystem” is, to put it mildly, a target-rich environment for both lawyers and activists – and just in case you thought Bathurst didn’t have enough appetite for risk, they are also trying to develop two large coal mines in that latest of geopolitical hotspots, Canada.

Right now, Bathurst Resources is a bit like Gollum. They can see the ring. They wants it, precious, yes they does. But it isn’t quite in their grasp yet. It would be such a pity if a crew of Eowyns and Frodos and Aragorns were to rise up, stand against them, and send them falling into the Mount Doom of failed companies and melted corporate dreams.

– Tim Jones

The post Bathurst Resources: Poised Above The Precipice appeared first on Coal Action Network Aotearoa.

https://wp.me/p7SYjY-5hH

Whilst no dates have yet been set for the resource consent hearings, we have another opportunity to oppose the mine expansion, via submissions to the Selwyn District Plan:

https://yoursay.selwyn.govt.nz/selwyndistrictplanreview

NB: You don’t have to live in the Selwyn District to make a submission, and a local resident and environmental activist, Siana Fitzjohn, has put together a very helpful “how-to” guide:

Selwyn District Plan Submission Guide CANA

Please note that the closing date for submissions is this Friday, 11 December, at 5pm.

Siana Fitzjohn with her KuneKune pig Splodge (Otago Daily Times)

The post A guide to making submissions against the Coalgate mine, via the Selwyn District Plan appeared first on Coal Action Network Aotearoa.

 Please feel free to use all or any of this guide – we offer both a summary and short form submission guide, as well as a more detailed longer submission guide.

NB: The accompanying photos illustrate the landscape, wetlands and native fish threatened by the mine expansion.

SUMMARY

Bathurst Coal Ltd has applied for consents from Environment Canterbury and Selwyn District Council to expand its open-cast coal mine operation at Coalgate in Canterbury. The bulk of this low-grade coal goes to Fonterra’s dairy factories to heat and dry milk powder.

Making a submission

ECan and Selwyn DC invite public submissions on this through their website form here: https://ecan.govt.nz/do-it-online/resource-consents/notifications-and-submissions/notified-consents/bathurst-coal-limited/

The deadline for making a submission is 5 pm, Monday 18 May.

Backgrounder on Bathurst’s Coalgate mine operation is here (thanks to Malvern Hills Protection Society).

The submission form asks whether you oppose/support each consent, then asks for reasons.

Useful tips

• Don’t forget to add your contact details to your submission – name, address, email, phone number
• Put the issue into your own words and tell your own story – it’s always more powerful.
• Be brief, clear, simple – think of those hearing it as your friends.
• You don’t have to be an expert and it’s OK to be emotional.
• It’s always best to say you wish to be heard. This way you receive all the updates and information, and it’s easy to withdraw your intention to speak nearer the hearing time.

SUBMISSION – SHORT FORM

Why we oppose these consent applications:

• Coal kills the climate – we must stop producing and using coal if we are to bring emissions down. The low-grade coal from this mine is used locally for industrial heating, a use for which climate-friendly alternatives exist.   Currently the Resource Management Act does not allow ‘climate impact’ as grounds for refusing a consent. However, this RMA clause is being reviewed and is likely to be changed to be compatible with the Zero Carbon Act. In 2019 ECan committed to declaring and acting on a climate and ecological emergency. As elected representatives, your primary responsibility is to the health of your local population and whenua.
• The mine supports an unsustainable model of land-use – 90% of this low-grade coal goes to Fonterra dairy factories. Their commercial model (the intensive production of low price/high volume commodities) requires a degree of irrigation, fertiliser use and livestock overstocking that is harmful to both the natural environment and human health. Calls for a change to this model are growing steadily stronger and more mainstream.
• Disregard for environmental degradation and threat to biodiversity – Bathurst have repeatedly breached their existing consents for discharge to local waterways that are the habitat of the endangered Canterbury mudfish. We have no confidence they will not continue to do so.
• Negative impact on local environment and community – as well as the impact on indigenous biodiversity and cultural values, Selwyn D.C’s own Notification decision report identified the impact of noise and dust, pollution of local waterway, landscape effects and overall amenity values as being more than minor.   Bathurst has also repeatedly failed to provide the required information on these issues.

SUBMISSION – LONG FORM

The issue

“Bathurst Coal Ltd has applied to Environment Canterbury and Selwyn District Council for consents [under the Resource Management Act] to continue operating and expand an open cast coal mine (known as Canterbury Coal Mine), including retrospective and future operation at Bush Gully Road, Malvern Hills, Selwyn.”

This comprises 6 specific consents to discharge mining operation effluent to air, water and land (for detail see here ). These consents are for a period from 20 to 35 years.

For a useful backgrounder on Bathurst’s Coalgate operations see here (thanks to Malvern Hills Protection Society).

The consent process

“When a resource consent application is received by the council, we conduct an assessment of its environmental effects. If the environmental effects are more than minor, the resource consent will require public notification….”

‘When we make a decision on a resource consent, we consider:

• the effects on the natural environment
• how the activity will affect other people’s use and enjoyment of the environment.” (from ECan website)

Using these criteria, ECan and Selwyn D.C. have decided to publicly notify Bathurst’s application and so are inviting the public to make submissions on each of the consent requests.

Public submissions close at 5pm on Monday 18 May.   (This deadline was extended due to the Covid 19 crisis)

Find Bathurst’s application and use ECan’s submission form here

SUBMISSION – CANA

We oppose each application for resource consent, as well as the overall expansion of the mine, because:

1. Coal kills the climate – coal is a major contributor to global carbon emissions, and thus to the current climate and ecological crisis humanity is facing.  We recognise that currently this is not a legal grounds for refusing an application under the Resource Management Act, but we urge you to take it into consideration because:
   • In 2019 ECan recognised the current climate and ecological crisis, declared a climate emergency and agreed to act on it in all its activities. To now allow the expansion of coal mining in your rohe for another 20-30 years makes mockery of the intent of such a declaration.
   • The section of the RMA that expressly disallows the consideration of climate impact is currently under review and may well be changed by the time the extension is awarded. We understand that the Environment Select Committee (ESC) has recommended changes to the RMA to align the Act with provisions and timeframes in the Climate Change Response (Zero Carbon) Amendment Act 2019. That Act expressly permits decision-makers acting under other legislation to take into account statutory emission targets, budgets and reduction plans. Key changes to the RMA proposed by the ESC include:
   • Requirements for councils to consider ‘emission reduction plans’ and ‘national adaptation plans’ when developing regional policy statements, regional plans and district plans
   • The repeal of RMA provisions that prevent regional councils from considering the effects of greenhouse gas emissions on climate change when making rules in plans or making decisions on applications for resource consent.

The ESC recommends these provisions come into force from 31 December 2021 which aligns with the timeline for the gazettal of the first ‘emissions reduction plan

We would also ask the question: which has primacy – the decisions that a local body makes in response to local public pressure and needs, or the decisions of central government? Does the fact that central Government has not yet passed an amendment to the RMA prevent ECan from acting on its own decisions in that regard? We think not. We urge you to consider ECan’s role as the democratically elected representatives of the local population and your responsibility for protecting our people, our whenua and all other creatures within the rohe.

2. Canterbury Coal Mine produces low-grade coal used locally for heating. This is low-grade sub-bituminous coal sold primarily to local dairy factories, schools and other organisations for heating. In a climate crisis, alternatives to coal for heating  There is no justification for mining this coal and the mining should be phased out, not extended.

3. The mine supports unsustainable farming practices on the Canterbury plains – most of the coal is used in local dairy factories for drying milk powder. There is growing substantial evidence that such farming practices –

1. • Due to overstocking, intensive irrigation and high nitrogenous fertitiser use, have been and continue to be destructive to both water supply and water quality in Canterbury.
   • Are unsustainable and incompatible with the health of our land (monoculture, loss of biodiversity), people (nitrates in the groundwater), and animals (lack of shelterbelts and intensive farming practices).
   • Are a threat to New Zealand’s food security – this area is naturally better suited to wheat and grain growing – these were once grown there but now have to be imported.
   • Follow a high volume/low quality intensive business model that is increasingly uneconomic as well as destructive of farming communities.

4. Bathurst’s history of refusing to comply with resource consents – this company has a long history of discharge consent infraction. ECan’s own website documents fines for 27 infractions against discharging mining effluent into the local waterways, the last such being November 2019.   Selwyn DC has also served abatement notices against the company for consent infrIngements.   We have no confidence that a company that yearly gets fined for consent breaches has any intention of respecting any future consent requirements.

5. Threat to the critically endangered Canterbury mudfish – Aotearoa’s native animal and plant species are disappearing rapidly under what has been termed ‘death by a thousand small cuts’. Every expansion of human activity into a wild/unused area means less space for other species. This has been shown recently and vividly by the tiny respite that Nature enjoyed during the COVID-19 lockdown.    This mining operation is very specifically a threat to the endangered Canterbury mudfish, whose habitat is now very restricted. The continual flouting of notices against discharging mining effluent into the mudfish habitat shows that this operator cannot be trusted to protect the environment they are working in and must not be allowed to continue their destruction.

6. Minimisation of the negative impact on local environment and community – as well as the impact on indigenous biodiversity and cultural values, Selwyn D.C. has identified the impact of noise and dust, pollution of local waterways, landscape effects and overall amenity and cultural values as being more than minor in its effects.

The Council’s view of these effects are summarised in their Notification Decision, which may be found here. We argue that these impacts are NOT minor.

We also note that Bathurst has repeatedly failed to provide the required information to local authorities in a timely fashion to allow them to fully assess these resource consent applications.

For all these reasons, therefore, we argue that Bathurst’s application for resource consents to enable it to extend its coal-mining operations at Canterbury Mines should not be approved.

The post Bathurst Coalgate expansion submission guide appeared first on Coal Action Network Aotearoa.

The Buller District Council has just granted resource consent for Te Kuha mine, a 109 hectare opencast coal mine on the West Coast, but the government has yet to decide whether to allow the miners to take the top off the mountain – the 12 hectares that are part of the Mt Rochfort Conservation Park.

The Department of Conservation has stated that this area is “recognised as nationally and internationally unique and for having very high ecological and conservation value.” It contains Great Spotted Kiwi and other rare and endangered species and plants.

At a time when our government is claiming that climate change is our generation’s “nuclear-free moment,”  and has recently said that there will be no new coal mines on conservation land, it must say no to this mountaintop removal.  Without access to this precious DOC land, the mine is unlikely to go ahead.

Hon Dr Megan Woods (Minister of Energy and Resources) and Hon Eugenie Sage (Minister of Conservation), have the power to stop this mine.

Call on Megan Woods and Eugenie Sage to live up to their words, and pull the plug on this dirty and short-sighted project. Sign the petition here:

https://actionnetwork.org/petitions/stop-te-kuha-coal-mine

The post Sign The Petition: Stop Te Kuha Coalmine appeared first on Coal Action Network Aotearoa.

Will Bathurst try to restart their destruction of the Denniston Plateau?

Industry is exulting over a stellar rise in the coal price this year. But we won’t be investing our savings.

The 5 year steady drop in the price of coking coal since 2011 has slowed work at Stockton, prevented the development of Bathurst’s Denniston mine until last year, then after a brief flurry of activity to ensure the consent remained valid, put that mine on hold indefinitely. Now in a few months coking coal that was selling at $72/tonne in January is selling at US$213. Australian thermal coal has risen by 85% – though is still short of 2011 levels.

Whitehaven Coal’s share price has risen by 600% but investors would be wise to be cautious. Zhao Chenxin of China’s National Development and Reform Commission has said “the current soaring price has no market foundation and is not sustainable”.

Bathurst seems to have similar concerns. They have not reopened Denniston and their share price remains below 6 cents. Perhaps they want to downplay the rise until they have purchased Solid Energy’s Stockton mine?

Why did the coal price drop over 5 years, why has it risen sharply again this year, and why do we think this will not last?

Why the price slump?

The steady decline in coal prices was about China’s reducing demand for coal and steel, and their declining rate of economic growth. It also reflected that solar is now cheaper than coal for new power stations in sunny countries. That all led to over supply in the market. We reported on this trend with more detail in Jobs After Coal in 2014.

Why the 2016 price rally?

China, facing reduced demand and an overcapacity of 1500 MT/y , legislated for the closure of dozens of steel mills by the end of this year. (You can do that in China.) Their target is to cut 45 MT of steel making capacity by the end of this year. The number of days coal miners were allowed to work in a year was cut, enforcing decent holidays.

US coal production has dropped by a third in two years and 30 mines were closed.

Then against this background, a series of local supply interruptions occurred. Floods closed roads and a railway in China. Mines in Australia were flooded in freak storms. (The irony of climate-linked weather affecting climate-cooking coal will not be lost on our readers.) The Australian Government enforced some mine closures. Stock piles of coal declined in several countries.

Added to that, China’s demand for thermal coal increased as rainfall into their hydro lakes dropped. Imports in August this year were 31% higher than in August 2015, with resulting price increases.

Severe monsoons cut Coal India’s production by over 10% and their stockpiles are dropping.

Why is this price rally likely to be short-lived?

According to Tim Buckley of IEEEFA global coal use peaked in 2004 and is declining now in China, the US and the EU. Demand in India is still increasing but that demand is being met from ramped up local production which does not affect international prices. Government policy in India is to cease coal imports, and in China is to retreat from coal-fired electricity. China is producing a smaller quantity of steel and substituting scrap for new iron, which reduces coal requirements.

The evidence suggests a short term supply constraint from a number of human and weather-related causes, set against a long term trend of movement away from coal as a preferred fuel in favour of cost-competitive renewables and concerns for air quality and, eventually, climate.

Analysts Wood MacKenzie expect prices for coking coal to decline over 2017 to $130 by the second quarter, and further by the end of the year.

BHP Billiton, which produces around half of all seaborne coal so presumably understands coal markets, just sold a coking coal project in Indonesia at a loss.

Against this long term trend, the reopening of Denniston would be a poor investment, and the proposed Te Kuha mine looks plain crazy. There is a long lead time to reopening a mine that has been mothballed, let alone opening a new one. Machinery, maintenance, removal of overburden, sourcing staff all take time. Thermal coal is at least 70% reliant on the domestic dairy industry, so continues – but that is a blog for another time.

References

http://ieefa.org/coal-price-increase-fed-unsustainable-blips-china-india/

http://www.reuters.com/article/us-china-coal-output-ndrc-idUSKCN11T16P

Wood MacKenzie October 2016 Coal Market report

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Our sources on the West Coast tell us that between 15 and 20 groups of potential buyers, mainly from India, have been through Solid Energy’s big Stockton mine there.

We also know that Bathurst Resources, the Australian coal mining company that fled Australia and set up in New Zealand, and which has managed to make a fearful mess of the unique and biodiverse Denniston Plateau in the course of a largely failed attempt to extract coal from it at an economic price, is trying to buy Stockton.

Work on the Denniston Plateau has now stopped – but the destruction wrought by Bathurst Resources remains.

Republic Investment Management of Singapore recently bought a 20% stake in Bathurst Resources, and they are seeking to acquire more, possibly with a view to taking a controlling interest. This has allowed Bathurst to raise funds in relation to “an impending NZ coal opportunity”, which we believe may be the attempted purchase of Stockton and other coal deposits which Solid Energy has the rights to but has not attempted to mine.

As the industry mouthpiece NZ Resources notes (24 June 2016), “for coal in NZ this is fire sale season”.

On one level, that’s a good sign: it reflects the parlous state of the coal industry both domestically and internationally, and the growing acknowledgment that King Coal, bruised and weakened but still dangerous, must be prised off his throne.

But fire sale season carries a high risk: with the backing of their mystery overseas investors, Bathurst – or one of the companies that has toured Stockton – might be able to take advantage of those fire sale prices to sweep up a bundle of former Solid Energy assets and bundle them with its own resources, such as the nearby Denniston mine.

Bundling Stockton, Happy Valley (adjacent and now being mined), the Escarpment mine on Denniston, and the proposed Te Kuha would create an asset large enough to interest a big overseas miner. Then, taking a cavalier approach to the environment and worker safety alike (as the record shows occurs in India), they might seek to claw what coal they can from the ground while there is still a buck to be made.

Whereas the coal industry in China has been in decline in recent years, in India , coal is still trying to expand. If we are not vigilant, we might end up with a future in which Indian steel mills and cut-rate New Zealand milk powder plants alike are supplied by coal made cheap enough to mine by Solid Energy’s past recklessness and the Government’s continued avoidance of real action on climate change.

This story has been hiding away in the shadows. It’s time for it to be brought into the light.

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Several new Fonterra plants have been officially opened in the last week or two, though they have all been running for a few months. Together they suggest the company may finally be giving some weight to the “value” component of its mantra, “Volume, Value, Velocity”.

We have criticised Fonterra in the past for its push for more, more and more milk, leading to farm intensification, more water pollution and more greenhouse gases. So it’s only fair we issue a cautious bouquet when they balance that with added value.

Bill English has just opened the new Reverse Osmosis plant at Edendale, the largest dairy factory in the southern hemisphere. Reverse osmosis is a widely used technology which purifies water or concentrates liquids by passing them through a membrane under pressure.

Whole milk can be concentrated down to 40-50% of its original volume, which should mean a saving of more than half the coal needed to dry it to powder or to MPC (milk protein concentrate). Certainly the changes at Edendale, which include an MPC plant and another making anhydrous milk fat (industrial butter) have added considerable value to each litre of milk with no additional coal boiler, even though an additional 1.4 million litres a day of milk are being processed.

Imagine the impact on Fonterra’s coal use if all their large plants used reverse osmosis prior to drying. It would also make it easier to source and handle the waste wood which must eventually replace that coal.

In the same week Steven Joyce opened a $72m expansion at Clandeboye which doubles their production of mozzarella cheese, making enough to top 300 million pizzas a year. Leaving aside the question of just what they have done to speed up the process from 3 months to 6 hours, this is a much higher value use for milk than bags of powder.

An $11m upgrade at Hautapu has doubled the production of lactoferrin, a milk-derived protein known in the industry as “pink gold” which fetches up to $1,000/ kg. Te Rapa factory is reported to have doubled its production of cream cheese.

All this points the way to a much smarter strategy than constant growth in bags of milk powder, with high environmental impact for low prices. Why, then, persevere with the huge expansion of coal fired milk drying at Studholme when there are demonstrably smarter ways to invest capital?

Perhaps Robert Spurway, Global Affairs manager, is having another think – he was reported last week saying that there is “no specific timeframe” for the Studholme plant, and Fonterra is not committed to it. Certainly it is hard to see where the extra milk will come from, with prices showing no sign of recovering and many farmers reducing production to save costs. This year’s milk production is expected to drop by at least 3 and maybe 5%.

With the benefits of adding value at existing plant now well demonstrated; with less milk flow and unhappy farmers, now would be the right time to call it quits and announce that Studholme will not go ahead, but that instead the capital will be invested in making more value for farmers from the milk they already produce.

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I can now add a rider: even if the cruel Mr Burns introduced zero-hours contracts, removed half the typewriters and banned bananas from the workplace, the monkeys would still produce work of better quality than Mokau South Resources’ application to strip-mine the Mokau River catchment for coal.

It beggars belief that, as the world’s hottest year ends and another hot year begins, anyone would even consider opening a new coal mine. It beggars still more belief that an application that fails to meet so many of the requirements of the Resource Management Act would be allowed to get to the point where it will be seriously considered.

But what’s even more incredible is that the Resource Management Act explicitly prevents us challenging fossil fuel projects on the basis of their contribution to climate change – and in case you think we’re having a go at National yet again, that explicit exclusion of climate change from the RMA was a decision by the last Labour Government. Thankfully, there are now moves afoot to remedy this, not least by the RMA’s author.

Even without the use of this key argument, however, there are so many things wrong with Mokau South’s application and their plans that the many people who responded to our call for submissions had plenty of arguments to choose from: such as the complete inadequacy of the applicant’s ecological assessment, their failure to carry the required iwi consultation, and their cavalier attitude to the effects mine effluent can have in a major water catchment.

In its story on Mokau South, Radio New Zealand chose to portray the Sampson brothers, who are behind this application, as dear old duffers who just wanted their lifetime dream of owning their own coal mine to be granted. But that’s not a thing anyone should want on their bucket list. There is nothing cute, funny or touching about people who want to rip apart an area of regenerating native bush and put a major water catchment at risk just so they can have a crack at making climate change even more disastrous.

So thanks to everyone who submitted by the closing date of 2 February. When we know the story with the hearing on this application, we’ll keep you posted. Although the Mokau South resource consent application reads like it was typed by a roomful of monkeys, the threat it poses is serious, and with our friends in groups such as Waikato Climate Action and Climate Justice Taranaki, we’ll be putting in serious work to stop it.

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