Thames council quits mining battle but ARC fights for ban

The Thames Coromandel District Council has thrown in the towel in its legal fight against gold mining - but an Auckland council is committed to opposing the miners.

Although the 25,000-ratepayer Thames council has backed off, Auckland Regional Council and anti-mining campaigners vow to fight on.

ARC chairman Mike Lee said yesterday: "This isn't about gold, it's about the right to choose in extreme cases to ban an activity outright."

After legal bills of at least $200,000, Thames council will now turn to its district plan to thrash out rules under which gold mining can occur.

An obviously frustrated mayor, Philippa Barriball, said both the Environment Court and the High Court had ruled the council had "its head stuck in the sand" and could not simply ban mining outright.

"We've said all along we must let the courts decide and now we've had two rulings," she said.

"Given recent Environment Court decisions turning down a marina and a sawmill, it's abundantly clear that any mining company would have to walk on water to begin mining on our peninsula."

Long-time anti-mining campaigner Mark Tugendhaft said it was the public that had fought successfully against a sawmill near Whangapoua Beach.

And it would be the public again that would now have to protect the peninsula from mining.

"When the prospecting applications come in, it will be the public left to ensure their area is protected against mining," he said.

He was happy an environmental group, the Environmental Defence Society, and Auckland Regional Council were preparing an appeal.

But Ms Barriball was unimpressed by the rallying cry of the ARC's head Mr Lee, who is behind the move and whose council has already handed over $8000 in legal fees.

The ARC was a "johnny-come-lately", she said.

"It's been a lonely battle, no one was interested until they thought it was going to affect them."

But Mr Lee said councils had to have the right to ban some activities.

The High Court decision issued three weeks ago confirmed an Environment Court ruling against a prohibition imposed by the Thames Coromandel District Council in 1998 on mining in coastal and conservation zones, and in all recreation and open space policy areas.

That ruling held that the prohibition was too broad.

Mining is banned on Department of Conservation-controlled land, which covers about one-third of the peninsula.