Line in the sand A bitter battle over seabed mining

Rare metals in iron sands off North Island coast could be extracted despite local opposition as government pushes to fast-track proposals

- Eva Corlett

Three fishers sit around a bare table in Pätea Boating Club, a few hundred metres back from New Zealand's South Taranaki coastline. Pigeons have left droppings on the floorboards, and through the salt-dusted windows the ocean pounds against the black sand.

"This is one of the best fishing areas in the country," the club's commodore, Steve Corrigan, said of the South Taranaki bight, which sweeps along the vast west coast of the North Island.

"And it's at risk of being ruined." Aside from its abundant fish species, the bight is home to rocky reefs, New Zealand pygmy blue whales and is visited by endangered species such as the Maui dolphin, the world's rarest. But over the past 11 years the region's seafloor has generated global interest and become a bitter battleground between a mining company and locals who live and work along the coast.

Since 2013, Trans-Tasman Resources (TTR) has been trying to gain consent to mine the iron sands between 19 and 42 metres below the surface. Iron sands are rich in rare earth minerals used in the production of steel, batteries and spacecraft - and increasingly soughtafter for renewable energy.

TTR's proposal to mine up to 50m tonnes a year for 35 years has created a years-long legal dispute with the community, which fears the sediment discharged back into the sea will smother marine life, impact fishing and endanger rare marine mammals.

The fight against seabed mining in the politically conservative Taranaki region is galvanising unlikely bedfellows dairy farmers, boaties, surfers, schools, iwi (Māori tribes) and environmental groups are working together to block the proposal.

"I don't think any of us would call us greenies," said Phil Morgan, a former dairy farmer and avid fisher. "We're pro-business... but this [area] is far too important to wreck."