for any one who believes we are there yet

The game goes on

From the Westport "The News". Wednesday front page


Bathurst still awaiting DOC consents


By Keira Stephenson
Coal miner Bathurst Resources may have a
hearing date for the appeal against its Denniston
Mine project, but a decision on whether the Department
of Conservation (DOC) will grant access is
still some time off.
Bathurst had lodged an application with DOC
to opencast mine on a 200ha site at Denniston in
December 2010.
However, the company had made a number of
changes to the application since then, said DOC
spokesman Rory Newsam.
DOC was currently analysing the latest information
Bathurst had presented it with for the access
agreement and a fi nal decision was still some time
off, said Mr Newsam.
Bathurst had withdrawn its earlier request for a
concession relating to the coal washing plant and
the pipeline proposal, he said.
DOC was awaiting a new concession application
for the company’s proposal to transport coal from
the plateau. Asked why it was taking so long, Mr
Newsam said the proposed development involved
a signifi cant mining operation.
“It involves complex discussions and proposals
presented by the company have also evolved over
time.
“We are working with the company to clarify their
applications and process them in the appropriate
manner.”
An access agreement was required for coal
companies to get onto an area and operate a mine.
It came under the Crown Minerals Act.
The public have no say over the access agreement.
A concession agreement covered all other activities
on conservation land outside the actual mining
area such as transporting the coal and did require
public notifi cation.
Bathurst has recently revised its plans to build
a coal wash-plant on the Denniston Plateau and
ship the coal offsite via a slurry pipe after going
into mediation with the Whareatea-Fairdown Residents
Association.
The residents group has since withdrawn its
appeal against the mine.
Bathurst has said it now intends to truck the coal
off the plateau unwashed until an aerial transport
system can be built to take the coal to a wash-plant
on private land near Waimangaroa.
Bathurst chief operating offi cer Richard Tacon
has previously said the company was exploring the
possibility of putting its mining application through
the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) as a
“proposal of national signifi cance” to speed things
up.Mr Newsam said even if a company went through
the EPA instead of the resource consent process,
projects on conservation land would still need separate
DOC access and concession agreements.


Viney

Keep your eyes open. No place for tight stop losses