Talisman Deeps - Permitted Activity master stroke?

Talisman Deeps - Permitted Activity master stroke?

The recent Quarterly Activities Report is extremely interesting because it seems that the Talisman Deeps exploration work has allowed NTL to begin construction of its mine.
Section 4 of the Hauraki District Plan (http://www.hauraki-dc.govt.nz/assets/council_documents/dptext/1252595_Sect4.pdf) defines “prospecting” as:



Worthy of note is the taking of hand samples is included in the definition. This is interesting because Section 5.5.4.1 of the Hauraki District Plan (entitled “Karangahake Gorge Zone”, http://www.hauraki-dc.govt.nz/assets/council_documents/dptext/1252600_Sect5.5.pdf) makes prospecting a permitted activity:



I don’t know about you guys but I have some experience in the Resource Management Act. Permitted activities can’t be arbitrarily halted because their existence takes the form of legal rights effected by statute.

My guess is that the construction of NTL’s mine is a permitted activity because Health and Safety laws require ventilation and all the support buildings in order to carry out the handle sampling process. The works to be undertaken are set out in the announcement (http://www.asx.com.au/asxpdf/20170421/pdf/43hnj39w6m0krq.pdf):



So, in effect, the HDC has properly applied the Hauraki District Plan and provided a compliance certificate for NTL’s plans to develop the Talisman Deeps project. As it happens, the work required to allow entry to take hand sampling is exactly the same as is required for bulk sampling.

This is really great news, particularly given the fact that the company suggests on paper that it could actually take a stab at a JORC compliant mineral resource but due to some compliance issues it will have to work on it a bit further. However, NTL has reaffirmed its view about what lies below level 8:



It's going to be darn interesting to see how the lower levels develop as well as the bulk sampling. Not to mention Newcrest's work on Rahu and this new project in Vanuatu... A brief Google search tells me that Vanuatu is a seabed mining wonderland