A date has been set for the next chapter in the long-running battle for consent to mine iron sand from the South Taranaki seabed. It will be heard in the Court of Appeal in September. In August 2017 the Environmental Protection Authority (EPA) gave mining company Trans-Tasman Resources (TTR) marine discharge consents to suck up 50 million tonnes of black [read more…]
In the News
KASM in the news
Making Waves aims to start a conversation about seabed mining
Review – Making Waves: The Documentary “Sit back, and free your mind”, Whanganui area surgeon-turned-environmental activist Dr Athol Steward encouraged an audience of over 40 people, as we sat in anticipatory silence. An extra row of seats in Confluence’s cosy theatre was needed for the sold-out documentary premiere.
Whanganui doctor Athol Steward swims to protest seabed mining
After eight hours in the water and an epic 20km swim Athol Steward was very glad to reach Kai Iwi Beach on Saturday evening. … He is hoping news of the two swims will bring donors to a Givealittle page, Making Waves NZ, and raise funds for Kiwis Against Seabed Mining (KASM) to fight the mining proposal. Mining company Trans-Tasman [read more…]
Doctor swims big ‘X’ over proposed seabed mine off South Taranaki coast
Earlier this month Athol Steward, 61, swam the shape of a cross over the proposed seabed mining site off the coast of Pātea. “The ocean 25km off the South Taranaki coast was teaming with life today – in mirror-glass clear water, kingfish torpedoed by, shoaling herring darted away, plus snapper, plankton and coelenterates joined the show,” Steward wrote on his [read more…]
Seabed fight now for legal fees
Anti-seabed mining campaigners and a South Taranaki iwi say a decision to finally scuttle a massive ironsand mining operation is a “victory for common sense”. Last week, Trans-Tasman Resources (TTR) dropped its attempt to reverse the Environmental Protection Authority’s decision to decline consent to extract 50 million tonnes of sediment per year, across 65.76 square kilometres. Te Runanga Ngati Ruanui [read more…]
Slap Down to Seabed Mining “Victory for common sense”
Slap Down to Seabed Mining proposal “Victory for common sense” – KASM The EPA’s decision to decline a proposal to mine black sand from the seabed of the South Taranaki Bight was heralded today by New Zealand’s only NGO focusing solely on the issue, Kiwis Against Seabed Mining. “This decision is a victory for common sense and environmental protection, for [read more…]
Second seabed mining consent application lodged
Fishing boats on the water at the Chatham Islands. Photo / Herald on Sunday Opponents to seabed mining are preparing for their second battle this year, with the lodging of a marine consent application for a phosphate nodule mining project on the Chatham Rise off the Canterbury coast. Chatham Rock Phosphate (CRP) yesterday lodged with the Environmental Protection Authority its [read more…]
Maui’s dolphins facing imminent extinction, research shows
New Zealand’s Maui’s dolphins could face extinction by 2031, new research shows. International Whaling Commission (IWC) scientists are scheduled to discuss the plight of the last 50 Maui’s dolphins again at their meeting in Bled, Slovakia this week. With less than 15 breeding females, Maui’s dolphins are among the rarest and most endangered mammals. Researchers claim fishing has progressively decimated [read more…]
Iron sands mining hearings to wrap up this week
Closing submissions on a company’s controversial application to 65 sq km of seabed off the South Taranaki coast are drawing to a close this week, following a lengthy round of hearings. Submitters including iwi, fishing companies, Government departments and environmental and recreational groups have raised their concerns about Trans-Tasman Resources bid, which is being called a “test case” that could [read more…]
Ironsands mining plan carries too many uncertainties: EPA
The environmental impacts of plans to mine ironsands off the ocean floor in the South Taranaki are too uncertain for regulators to know how to draft rules to manage them, staff from the Environmental Protection Authority say in a report ahead of final hearings on the proposal. TransTasman Resources is seeking a marine consent under new law governing New Zealand’s [read more…]