Grey gold-dredging licence granted

Press, 18 October 1980, Page 1

Grey gold-dredging licence granted

Parliamentary reporter The wholly Americanowned mining company, Kanieri Gold Dredging Ltd. has been granted gold-mining rights over 376 ha of riverbed and land along the Grey River. The Minister of Energy (Mr Birch) confirmed yesterday that he had approved a licence, which will be issued when survey plans of the area, round the Blackball bridge, have been lodged. The licence will allow the company to dredge for •- gold at the site for 21 years.The terms and site of the licence have caused some dispute on the West.. Coast. Although , “The ? Press” reported early last month that approval was almost certain, it was not until. yesterday that Mr Birch made public* his decision.. • )',/■ . /He said that careful

consideration had been given <to the effect of dredging on the present use of the land within the licence area. The company - would have ■ to complete its dredging programme to a work schedule which would set the timing of work throughput the licence area and the manner of progressive rehabilitation of the land. Information on the - dr e d gin g programme : would be supplied; by the company in ' advance to land owners and occupiers* so that disruption to present uses would be minimised/ v, '?

Evaluation of the proposal, had taken, into account the economic benefits to the region which would result from the building and running of/the .dredge. The company .had - already.advertised 60 new jobs-in anticipation of the licence, j

‘ Mr Birch made particular reference to the detailed specifications which the Westland Catchment Board requires the company to follow in the design' of an adequate river channel and stopbank system. The company will be required to rehabilitate any land that is dredged and Mr Birch believes that it may be possible to improve the quality of some of the land.

Mr Birch said he was aware of the great interest • in the possible expansion of gold dredging . in the Grey River and on other West Coast rivers. He had asked his Ministry to assess carefully the social and economic impact on the West Coast of further gold-dredging ventures. Kanieri Gold Dredging, was New Zealand-owned until May, 1980, but at that time the total share

capital was acquired by two American corporations, Markex Oil and Minerals, Inc., and the Symcon Mining Company, under the name of the New Zealand Alluvian Mining Company, Ltd. The company has run New Zealand’s only remaining gold dredge, bn the Taramakau River, for many years and in the 1979 calendar year produced gold valued at just under $2 million.

The company intends to build a completely new dredge on the Grey River, while the existing dredge will ’ continue to work on the Taramakau. The new dredge has been designed by Consolidated Placer Design, Ltd, a big international dredge-building company, and will cost $lO million. Construction is. expected to take between 20 months and 22 months.

Proven gold reserves in the?licence area, based on - a‘ notional price of $6OO an ounce; would- have a gross value of almost $7O million. The secretary of Kanieri Gold Dredging, Mr T. K. Buckley, said in Greymout'r yesterday that in . anticipation of the granting of the licence the , company had engaged another 27 people in the last three months to assist in the. survey work, writes the Greymouth reporter of “The Press.” • When the licence had been issued the company would employ a further 60 to 80 people in the. construction of the new dredge. “It is hoped they will , build it and then stay on to work it?’ said Mr B.uckThe company hoped to 1 have the survey completed j in a month so that it

could be sent to Mr Birch ' and the licence could be released. The new dredge would be designed to rehabilitate the land as it worked. The present dredge on the Taramakau River spent $1 million in the . area. More than $500,000 went in wages annually , and more . than $250,000 was paid to the West Coast Electric Power Board for electricity. , “There is the spin-off to the foundries and garages, as we believe in buying as much as possible locally,”said Mr Buckley. “With the advent of the new dredge our expenditure locally will at least be doubled.”

The president of the Greymouth . Chamber of Commerce (Mr J. D. Huston) raid the new dredging would provide further employment and financial stability in the region. It

would be one of. the main industries created oh the tyest Coast in the last 25 years. A Ngahere farmer, Mr L. W. Seeker, said that about 45ha of his lOOha property would be affected by the dr:. J ng. “We have been here only a short time and are slowly developing it,” he said He would run 125 cows this year. When the land was fully sown in grass it could run 160 cows, with repla ments.

He wanted to see a group, apart from the Wes 11 an d catchment Board an J the Mines Di vision, supervise the dredging and the land rehabilitation.

“It should be supervised bv a consortium of individuals, not a Government department,” he said. “I don’t think that .the Catchment Board has done a very good job in supervising the dredging work oh the Taramakau River.”

The president of the West Coast provincial executive of Federated Farmers (Mr F. E. Wall) could not be reached, yesterday. -