Opponents of mining the seabed off the coast of Patea are ramping up their campaign.
They want 20,000 people to oppose the mining application being considered by the Environmental Protection Authority (EPA) and are looking for a $100,000 war chest.
On October 21 Trans-Tasman Resources (TTR) applied to the EPA to mine 65 square kilometres of seabed in the South Taranaki Bight.
Its proposed operation would all happen offshore, with iron-rich particles shipped to Asia. The authority has since asked some clarifying questions, TTR chief executive Tim Crossley said.
It is still evaluating the hundreds of pages of information in the application.