Media Release
Solid Energy seeks protection for its Buller mining operation
5 August 2009
To protect its Stockton coal mining operation, Solid Energy yesterday asked a Buller resource consents panel to set conditions on any water rights it might grant to a group promoting a hydro-electricity scheme using water from Solid Energy’s Stockton Opencast Mine, north of Westport.
A combined panel of the Buller District and West Coast Regional Councils is hearing an application from Hydro Developments Ltd (HDL) for water rights related to a planned hydro-electricity generation project. Solid Energy has asked the panel to grant HDL’s consents subject to the future water needs of Solid Energy’s current and future mines in the area.
Chief Operating Officer, Barry Bragg, says until recently, Solid Energy believed it had prior rights. However, the Regional Council advised that, if HDL received the rights it was seeking, it would become an “affected party” to water rights and other consents Solid Energy requires to operate the mine.
“That could mean our future applications are either refused or that we end up with conditions so restrictive that our mining operations become uneconomic,” he says. “We have been in discussions about this with HDL and although they have told the hearings panel they do not wish to jeopardise our mining, we have not been able to agree suitable conditions which would ensure this.
“As it stands, we believe this application is a significant risk to future mining operations at Stockton,” Mr Bragg says. “That is why we are asking the panel to ensure that conditions are placed on any rights they might grant HDL so that they are subject to the requirements of our current and future mining in the area.”
● Stockton Opencast Mine produces high-quality steel making coal for export. Stockton directly employs more than 500 people and regularly provides work for several hundred more consultants and contractors. Its output underpins KiwiRail’s Midland Line and contributes to the business of Lyttelton Port of Christchurch. Solid Energy estimates its Stockton operation is capable of producing at about current levels for up to another 20 years. Resources within the neighbouring Upper Waimangaroa Mining Permit, valid until 2033, have the potential to extend Stockton’s operations beyond this 20-year timeframe.
