Editorial: Mining review needs to strike good balance

Battle lines are swiftly drawn whenever the subject of mining in national parks or other conservation land is raised. On one side is the type of environmentalist who refuses to countenance the activity in any form whatsoever and will fight it each and every way. On the other are mining companies, which, having blotted their copybooks in a less conservation-conscious age, now stress their responsible approach to extraction.

The task for any government is to strike a rational balance that recognises both the potential economic benefits of mining and the need to guard against disfigurement of the landscape. Enterprisingly, Resources Minister Gerry Brownlee has ventured into that territory.

Initially, he spoke quite candidly of plans to review the ban on mining in schedule four land in the Department of Conservation estate. Predictably, this was greeted with outrage by the likes of the Royal Forest and Bird Protection Society and the Environmental Defence Society, which said mining companies would set their sights on the Coromandel Peninsula, much of which is protected, and the Kahurangi National Park near Nelson. Recognising the sensitivities, the Prime Minister was soon emphasising that this was all about a stocktake of mineral resources in conservation land. "Some of these debates [about mining] are a little ahead of themselves," said John Key. "Let's just understand what's there."

There is a large slice of sophistry in this, of course. The stocktake is being done to ascertain the potential for mining. If there was no intention to mine, there would be no need for the exercise. In his speech to the Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy last week, Mr Brownlee was unequivocal. He talked about providing "a solid platform for improving and increasing access to conservation land for responsible mineral exploration and mining activity".

A stocktake, in fact, is overdue. We need to know what is lying in the ground. Areas such as the Coromandel are under-explored, although it has been estimated that about $30 billion of gold awaits extraction on the peninsula. Nationwide, the value of untapped minerals has been put at $240 billion, of which almost three-quarters is on Department of Conservation land. About 40 per cent of that is listed in the off-limits schedule four of the Crown Minerals Act. That resource represents wealth which this country is in little position to ignore. Such is especially the case when the value of gold is particularly high, as is usually so in recessionary times.

Environmentalists say mining activity would be offputting to tourists lured to this country by the promise of a pristine landscape. But two factors undermine that argument. First, the sum of land in public ownership is so large - it occupies about a third of the country - that more than enough would be left over if mining were to occupy a tiny portion. And not all the land thought likely to harbour significant deposits of zinc, lead, copper, nickel and tin has high conservation value. Second, good modern mining practice pays due heed to the environment. The days of open-cast eyesores have been consigned to history.

On a per capita basis, New Zealand undoubtedly has a valuable mineral resource. The royalties from this can play a far greater role in economic growth.

The regions where mining takes place would receive a particular fillip. For every suspicious Coromandel resident, there will be those on the West Coast of the South Island eager to grasp the opportunity. Balance, not blinkered thinking, offers the way forward. Companies prepared to bring a responsible approach to mining carefully selected parts of the Department of Conservation estate should be welcomed to this country.