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Bathurst sees off court challenge

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Bathurst sees off court challenge

3News NZ

Forest & Bird says that the 200-hectare mine on the plateau will mine 80 million tonnes of coal that, when burned, will release about 200 million tonnes of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere

Forest & Bird says that the 200-hectare mine on the plateau will mine 80 million tonnes of coal that, when burned, will release about 200 million tonnes of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere

Bathurst Resources has seen off a court challenge from environmental group Forest & Bird as it continues with plans to develop an open-cast coal mine on the West Coast.

Forest & Bird appealed against a climate change declaration made in Bathurst's favour by the Environment Court on May 1.

The High Court had upheld the original decision by the Environment Court, the company said yesterday.

Forest & Bird said it was dismayed that the High Court had decided that the effects of the mine on climate change could not be considered under the Resource Management Act (RMA).

"Forest & Bird would like to see the RMA consider all issues for our environment from new developments, including mining," Forest & Bird field officer Debs Martin said.

"Climate change will have the greatest impact on the world's plants, animals and people, and it's hard to see why the RMA should ignore this," she said.

Originating from Perth, and dual-listed on the NZX and ASX, Bathurst has been planning the mine on the Denniston Plateau above Westport, on New Zealand's South Island, for the past seven years.

Prolonged resource consent appeals have frustrated some investors, and the shares have fallen 53.3 percent in the past 12 months.

Forest & Bird says that the 200-hectare mine on the plateau will mine 80 million tonnes of coal that, when burned, will release about 200 million tonnes of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere.

Although the effects of the mine on climate change may not be considered, Forest & Bird will be opposing the resource consent application for the mine at an Environment Court hearing set down for late October.

NZN

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Comments

9/09/2012 12:10:02 p.m.

Phil wrote:

Forest & Bird and the Greenies should sell their cars and start walking to save the planet!, NZ will soon be a banana republic if we do not develop the resources we have been given with due care for the benefit of all our people. Co2 is not a pollutant, Carbon is not a poison but the building block of all life, Wake Up, Climate Change scare tactics are not true scientific fact

29/08/2012 2:19:33 p.m.

Chris wrote:

Very disappointing to see forest and bird involved in blatant grandstanding like this. They seem to be using the appeals process simply to delay a project. The issue of how NZ deals legislatively with Greenhouse gasses is important and should not be a sideshow in a resource consent application. The metallurgical coal from Deniston is a valuable commodity and the area is already being mined - the project should get a fair hearing considering the local and national benefits and the impacts. Having the resource consent process deliberately dragged out is a bad outcome for everyone.

26/08/2012 12:50:50 p.m.

penny wrote:

To know how much carbon dioxide will be released from a future use of this coal you would have to know which kilns and burners will be used. Putting technology into creating better ways of extracting the energy from coal - underground gas collection, filters and catalysts etc. There is no easy way, solar power equipment uses steel (which itself can only be made with help of coking coal), wind turbines the same and kill lots of birds, dams not good for river ecosystems etc.

26/08/2012 11:20:30 a.m.

Longtack wrote:

Richard - get out and trap some opossums for a year or two until you can come up with a better idea. James - agree. Few jobs and little tax etc for us. Jim Seaview - Holcim is a Swiss company, and just like the USA, China and Russia, they put money ahead of everything else. F&B is NOT a Green Party offshoot, and FB go to pains not to align themselves politically. Chris - "Nutbars and minority groups" opposed the 3rd Reich. So where would you have stood?? With the populist deluded majority cos that's the safest place if you don't/can't think, eh.

26/08/2012 9:15:29 a.m.

Richard wrote:

Forest and Bird (Twig & Tweet) have no environmental credibility as they support the spread of the highly toxic 1080 poison, (for which there is no antidote), over our forests, streams and waterways. See this youTube clip for more info youtube.com/watch?v=nKL7KllorWw

25/08/2012 5:51:45 p.m.

james wrote:

How many jobs JIM SEAVIEW? how much are we even going to earn from this? Not much, not much and stuff all. Want some wealth JIM/CHRIS, do some god damn work like the rest of us you lazy sods!

25/08/2012 2:04:20 p.m.

Jim Seaview wrote:

QUOTE: "Forest & Bird said it was dismayed that the High Court had decided that the effects of the mine on climate change could not be considered under the Resource Management Act (RMA).

"Forest & Bird would like to see the RMA consider all issues for our environment from new developments, including mining," Forest & Bird field officer Debs Martin said."


Bathurst Resources is going to provide ongoing real jobs for the Westport economy. These job vacancies will be needed urgently especially when Holcim Cement eventually closes down.

If its not the crazy Green Party it one of their offshoots like Forest & Bird that tries to stop progress.

They would be crucified in Western Australia where a thousand Kiwis per week are heading to because of the mining boom expansion.

Thank heaven some common sense.

Local Jobs must come before worrying about alleged climate change effects, a topic which companies and governments in the USA, Russia and China would not even consider.



25/08/2012 1:50:57 p.m.

Chris wrote:

This is why NZ does not get ahead. Nut bars and minority goups slowing down economic progress for everyone else.