Seabed mining is a terrible idea for ocean ecosystems. Trans-Tasman Resources’ proposal to carry out seabed mining in the South Taranaki Bight has been presented, debated and then rejected every time for a decade.
And we are gearing up to oppose and resist it all over again.
PETITION: BAN SEABED MINING
Who is the company trying to wreck the seabed?
Trans-Tasman Resources (TTR) is an international mining company owned by the Australian firm Manuka Resources. For more than 10 years, TTR has wanted to open a mine in a region of the ocean known as the South Taranaki Bight. It is off the coast of Patea, a town in South Taranaki. If approved, it would be the first project of its kind in the world: an underwater open-cast mine dredging up 50 million tonnes of iron sand every year for 35 years.
The courts and environmental authorities have rejected TTR’s plans many times because their claims that seabed mining won’t cause lasting harm don’t stack up. So, of course, TTR pulled out of the regular consenting process to take advantage of the Luxon government’s questionable Fast Track Approvals process. This new pathway will allow them to skip any proper democratic scrutiny by affected communities..
It is clear that Trans-Tasman Resources is trying to avoid the opposition they have historically faced from environmental groups, community and grassroots organisations and mana whenua like Ngāti Ruanui. Other business interest groups, like offshore wind energy and the fishing industry, are also opposed.
This is because their seabed mining operation would be so disruptive to the ocean that those industries know they could not share the space. It would have to be one or the other.
What kind of damage does seabed mining cause?
Trans-Tasman Resources and its Australian owner, Manuka Resources, plan to scoop 50 million tonnes of iron sand from the seafloor every year for 35 years. It would then be processed to extract vanadium, which then would be exported to China to be used for industrial applications.
What’s left would then be dumped back into the ocean.
That would create a sediment plume that could cause great harm to rare and unique marine creatures such as Pygmy Blue Whales, Kororā (little blue penguins), Hector’s Dolphins and Māui dolphins.
The direct damage seabed mining would cause is at least threefold:
- Damage to marine habitats: In the process of scooping up sand, seabed mining would hurt habitats and creatures on the seabed, like coral, anemones and octopus
- Noise pollution: The large machinery would create a wall of noise, which would confuse animals like whales and dolphins that use their sensitive hearing to find each other and their way around the environment.
- Sediment plumes: Seabed mining would also create massive plumes of sand when it is disposed of. These sand plumes would clog corals and sponges and likely smother the animals and ecosystems on its path.
In addition to the direct impacts of the mining activity, there are also knock-on effects. The marine food web is a delicate and complex system; by impacting one creature, others will also be impacted across the food chain in ways that are often unpredictable.
TTR cannot be trusted
If we judge them by their track record so far, TTR and its owners, Manuka Resources, are not trustworthy sources of information.
TTR’s parent company, Manuka Resources, has had to backtrack on claims that its proposed Taranaki seabed mining operation would generate 1 billion dollars in export earnings annually. Manuka Resources admitted it has no basis for that statement.
Trans-Tasman Resources has also never substantiated its claims that its seabed mining operation would have no environmental impacts on the area of the ocean where it would operate. For these reasons, institutions all the way up to the Supreme Court have rejected their previous applications.
TTR also has a history of anti-democratic practices: they were found to be illegally spying on Ngāti Ruanui and other environmental activists before when they hired a private investigator firm to keep tabs on the activities of New Zealand citizens.
TTR has a history of not engaging in good faith, failing to meet environmental and democratic standards, making misleading claims and repeatedly trying to push for this exploitative project. It has ignored clear, sustained opposition from the affected communities. TTR is actively trying to sidestep environmental and social oversight. It has no social licence.
TTR’s seabed mining project would also prevent the development of offshore wind farms, one of the main projects that would facilitate a clean energy transition for Taranaki and Aotearoa. Already, one offshore wind energy company has pulled out of New Zealand after warning that developing offshore wind is incompatible with seabed mining.
TTR can expect resistance
Seabed mining in the South Taranaki Bight is just a terrible idea that we have to keep pushing against.
Years of open debate and visibility from opponents to seabed mining has weakened TTR’s case to mine the South Taranaki Bight. It is obvious that TTR’s project is the actual “bloodsucking vermin”- as Shane Jones labels those who oppose such projects – seeking to extract and syphon away anything it deems valuable from the bottom of the ocean.
Meanwhile, years of active resistance and court hearings have made it clear: there is a diverse chorus of voices in opposition, from mana whenua, grassroots communities, and environmentalists to the offshore wind industry and even the fishing industry. All have valid reasons to resist the destruction of the seabed.
They all speak loud and clear about the many downsides of this terrible idea.
On the other hand, from TTR and the politicians they have sweet talked for support, all we hear is the deaf and incoherent noise of a seabed mining machine, ripping the land and ocean apart in pieces.
Seabed mining is a new threat to the oceans. Now is our chance to prevent the destruction before it’s too late.
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