Nz Coal Deposits

Introduction to New Zealand’s Coal Resources

►OVERVIEW...................................2 Coal in the New Zealand Economy ..2 Coal resources - ownership ..............2 ►PRODUCTION ..............................3 Domestic markets .............................3 Exports .............................................4 Imports..............................................4 ►GOVERNMENT PARTICIPATION 5 ►PERMITTING & CONSENTS .......6 Producers .........................................6 ►LEGISLATION...............................8 Acts and Regulations........................8 Minerals & Coal Royalty Regime ......8 ►USEFUL RESOURCES .............. 11 Contact details ................................ 11

August 2011

OVERVIEW

New Zealand’s coal resources New Zealand has extensive coal resources, mainly located in the Waikato and Taranaki regions of the North Island, and the West Coast, Otago and Southland regions of the South Island. National in-ground resources of all coals are estimated at over 15 billion tonnes. New Zealand’s coal resources are generally well explored. A major government-funded coal exploration programme, known as the New Zealand Coal Resources Survey, explored between 1975 and 1989 almost all of New Zealand’s realistic coal prospects. More than 1,800 holes were drilled, and extensive resource evaluation, geotechnical, geophysical, utilisation, environmental and mining feasibility studies were carried out. The discovery of very large resources of lignite in Otago and Southland also led to a series of investigations in the 1980s by the Liquid Fuels Trust Board to evaluate the potential of the lignites for conversion to transport fuels. The South Island lignite deposits account for 80% of New Zealand’s coal resources. The main deposits are well known and recoverable lignite figures are well established at over 6.2 billion tonnes, equivalent to 72,000 PJ. The South Island lignites are being evaluated for their potential as a feedstock for large-scale...