Mining on the Denniston Plateau
Towards the northwestern side of South Island of New Zealand is situated a small settlement that is known by the name of Denniston. The area formed by this settlement is the West Coast region of the country. This small town is situated on the small Mount Rochfort Plateau in the mountain ranges of Papahaua, which measure around 600 meters above sea level, meanwhile the distance from Westport is 18 kilometers towards northeast.
At the start of the 20th century, the population of this small settlement was recorded to be about 2000, because of the huge coal mine that is situated quite close to where the people had settled. Speaking of now, the area has become more of a ghost town and hardly 50 people live here. It will not be wrong to say that the fate, location and history of Denniston are not very different from another settlement of New Zealand, known by the name of Millerton.
It is important to note here that coal is still being mined at the Stockton Mine and close to the Burnett's Face. In the year 2010, it was announced by Bathurst Resources that Escarpment Mine Project would start mining for coal in this region, and this was the decision that has received a great deal of controversy recently and the environmentalists have strongly opposed this move.
In the year 2013, Bathurst was given a go-ahead by the Environment Court pertaining to the initiation of coal mining in this region; however environmentalist groups including Forest and Bird have been protesting against it till date.
There are two main reasons because of which the environmentalist groups are against coal mining in this region. The first reason has already been stated above. Since it is a small settlement, the population of this region did not really go over 2000 people. However, because of the extensive coal mining programs that are being run in this area, it has now become a ghost town, which means that not more than 50 people are now living here. It should be noted here that the main stance of the environmentalist groups is that it is unfair on the people to run such mining projects because they have to leave their place of living and move to others.
As of the second reason, it has to do with the landscape of this region. The plateau has a rocky landscape, which offers wonderful views of the ocean and the coastal plains. Even though it has been blurred in the mist, the landscape that is presented in this region is quite breathtaking and can be developed further to attract tourists. However, in the presence of the current mining projects, this is not going to be possible.
Several different cases were being heard in the court pertaining to this matter. As of June of this year, the Bathurst Resources have been given the permission to start their mining project in Denniston Plateau. Six-month consent has been issued by the Department of Conservation so that the company has start working at the West Coast. However, the company has been obliged for the submission of a new application each year in order to continue their project. The department has also given its consent to extend the $22 million compensation for Bathurst Resource from the time period of five years to now seven years in the wake of the changes in the coal market internationally (ONE News, 2014).
It has been said that the money will be directed towards the predator and pest control in the Denniston Plateau and the Kahurangi National Park. On the other hand, Forest and Birth have claimed that the company should remain on the conditions that were put forth during the original consent. The group is of the view that the company's current share price decline is an indication that their project poses a real threat of doing irreparable damage to the region (ONE News, 2014).
The mining project of Bathurst Resources was started in the month of July 2014. Nevertheless, the company does plan to reduce the extent of the area that will be mined and therefore the amount of coal that will be taken out from the ground in the next two years. It aims to accelerate the project when the conditions of the market are in their favor (ONE News, 2014).
Legislation
Since the year 1991, the environmental laws of the country have been based on some similar themes. The most dominating of these themes has become the principle of sustainability, which now forms the fundamental principle for the management of physical, and...
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