A West Coast geologist has shot down claims by Forest and Bird that Stockton coal has no special properties.
By Vihan Dalal for Local Democracy Reporting
Forest and Bird representatives addressed the West Coast Conservation Board meeting in Hokitika last week and claimed Bathurst Resources Ltd has been "greenwashing" in promoting Stockton coal for its special properties.
Bathurst operates New Zealand's largest opencast coalmine at Stockton, just north of Westport.
Plans to expand southwards on to the adjacent Denniston Plateau to extend the life of the mine are currently with the Fast-Track process. Consents are due to run out in 2027.
Stockton coal is widely regarded among the world's finest for steelmaking, and is exported to China.
Forest and Bird regional conservation manager Scott Burnett argued against the mine expansion and criticised Bathurst for "greenwashing".
"They first claimed that the coal mined from here has special properties, that burning it [in] steel-making furnaces reduces emissions over using alternative coals.
"We argue that is pretty much blatant greenwashing. Coke [hard, coal-based fuel] and coal for steel making is typically blended with a number of coals to create the right mix," Burnett said.
The world did not require coal from Bathurst's Stockton operation and the mine's coal exports were "not that significant", he claimed.
"There is plenty of coke and coal in the world. Australia currently exports 150 times the amount of coal that Stockton exports each year and globally, Bathurst's coke and coal exports are just a drop in the bucket," Burnett said.
West Coast coal is 'absolutely unique'
However, conservation board member John Taylor, a mining geologist with decades of experience, rebutted those claims.
"West Coast coal has a very special property strength."
This meant its coking quality "make it absolutely unique," Taylor said.
"West Coast coal is ... unique in the world, that is why it still gets a premium price."
Mr Burnett replied that did not mean West Coast coal cannot be replaced for steel making.
"We would argue that steel making does totally fine in the absence of coal from the Stockton Plateau."
The planned Stockton expansion is proposed to move into the landscape scarred by 140 years of underground and open-cast mining at Denniston.
While Bathurst works through a Fast-Track application to expand the mine footprint, Forest and Bird has launched a high profile campaign against the plan, calling Denniston "too precious to mine".
The land administered by NZ Petroleum and Minerals for mining purposes, is under a mix of Crown administration with parcels being managed by Land Information NZ and the Department of Conservation stewardship land.
The area is noted for its unique Powelliphanta land snail species and other species, although a DOC technical report from 2019 flags how industrial activity on the Denniston Plateau had already reduced the extent of many of the plateau ecosystems to less than 60%.
It suggested the risk of species loss and ecosystem change in the area would increase exponentially if less than 60% of the original extent of an ecosystem survived.
"Existing developments have already so adversely affected the naturalness of Denniston Plateau, it failed to meet criteria for an 'outstanding natural environment', decreasing the likelihood of protection and increasing the likelihood of further industrial activity," the 2019 DOC report said.
– Local Democracy Reporting is local body journalism co-funded by RNZ and NZ on Air
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