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An organisation representing mining interests is welcoming a Court of Appeal decision relating to the status of mining as a "prohibited activity" in the Coromandel.
The Minerals Industry Association said the decision could help to clear up inconsistencies over resource use in the region.
"The association is pleased that the Court of Appeal recognised and agreed with its concerns that the proposed Thames-Coromandel district plan treated mining inconsistently with other activities with similar effects," a spokesman said yesterday.
Thames-Coromandel District Council and two Auckland councils have also welcomed the decision, but for the opposite reason.
They say it vindicates their use of "prohibited activity" status to protect sensitive environments and, in the case of the Coromandel and the Hauraki Gulf islands, to prohibit mining.
Auckland City Council and Auckland Regional Council were parties to the appeal by the anti-mining group Coromandel Watchdog, after earlier rulings found in favour of the minerals association and the Ministry of Economic Development.
The case now returns to the Environment Court for reconsideration.
The minerals association said it was pleased the Court of Appeal had "recognised the inappropriateness of local authorities using prohibited activity status for mining to effectively avoid the evaluation required under the Resource Management Act".
Such avoidance was "despite the fact that often the local authority has sufficient information to undertake that assessment for other activities which have similar effects, such as quarrying and production forestry".
The association said it looked forward to contributing to the deliberations of the Environment Court in those respects.
