Chch eliminated as smelter site

Press, 4 April 1989, Page 1

Chch eliminated as smelter site

By

CULLEN SMITH

Christchurch has, been rejected as a site for a multi-million-dollar nickel smelter promising hundreds of new, jobs, but Timaru could get the nod. New Zealand Nickel Smelters, Ltd, the Auckland company wanting to establish a South Island smelter, announced last evening it preferred sites near the ports of Timaru and Bluff.

Christchurch and a possible site at Aramoana, near Dunedin, have been eliminated by the company .in preliminary studies of 11 potential areas in the South Island.

Detailed environmental and technical studies of the Timaru and Bluff sites will be made by the company over the next nine months.

The prospect of Timaru winning selection as the smelter site was veiwed by the Mayor of Timaru, Mr Dave Walker, as an invaluable contribution the economic recovery of South Canterbury. "Government economic policies have squeezed this district hard and the smelter would be of incredible value to us, not just economically, but by creating jobs that would help reverse the falling population trend,” he said.

Mr Walker said slag disposal would not be a problem in Timaru because it could be used to arrest coastal erosion north of the city. As well as Timaru and Bluff, sites near Oamaru and Dunedin will also come under further study by the company. The governing director of New Zealand Nickel Smelters, Mr Ernie Smith, said Christchurch was rejected because of port

transport problems and environmental concerns. “We can’t see Christchurch being suitable. You’ve got problems insofar as the wharf and the tunnel and having to transport ore several miles,” he said. “We’ve found a lot of problems. And, of course, you have your own problems with pollution, which is inherent in Christchurch.” Problems with the disposal of slag were another consideration against a site near Christchurch. The $320 million smelter would employ 130 full-time workers, with a further 110 in downstream jobs in engineering, sub-contract-ing and services, he said.

Construction could start next year and involve 300 workers over a three-year period. To the Port of Lyttelton, the

smelter would have meant a significent increase in shipping, with a minimum of at least one 30,000 tonne ore carrier calling every three weeks. The vessels would require bunkering, service and maintenance during their stay.

The general manager of the Lyttelton Port Company, Ltd, Mr lan Brokenshire, said the company was disappointed Christchurch did not win favour. "Several hundred thousand tonnes of ore coming through the port would have been a positive gain,” he said.

But Mr Brokenshire took issue with the nickel company’s viewpoint on transport problems at the port. “The port has all the facilities to be able to handle the trade,” he said.

N.Z. Nickel Smelters expressed concern about disposal of slag earlier, but would face the same problem at Timaru or Bluff, Mr Brokenshire said.

The president of the Canterbury Manufacturers’ Association, Mr Bruce Fraser, was philosophical about the potential economic loss to the province. “At the end of the day, it doesn’t matter where it goes. If somebody does well, there is a spin-off to the rest of the community. That’s the most important thing.” The Mayor of Christchurch, Sir Hamish Hay, said he was disappointed at the city being eliminated from site investigations. “I had hoped they would see the possibility of a site in the south-west part of the city, away from the residential areas, but convenient to railway lines.”