A Minerals fortune in NZ waters - Submissions invited

by Bronwyn Llewellyn

23:50 Thursday May 29, 2014

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Submissions to NZ Petroleum and Minerals are invited from the public as part of the Partial Fees Review 2014 which closes on June 6. Rare minerals’ mining offshore has a value of between 5 -20 trillion dollars.

New Zealand's deep sea mining basins contain up to $20 trillion in rare mineral assets, former CEO of Solid Energy Dr Don Elder told attendees at a 2010 petroleum conference in Auckland. 

Rod Young from Tokoroa was one of the hobby miners attending that conference.

"New Zealand is the wealthiest per capita populations on the planet behind Saudi Arabia," Young said during a recent visit to Hamilton.

Young holds claims titles in upper Fiordland, Coromandel Peninsula, Thames, Paeroa and in the Waihi district. 

Currently, overseas mining operations retain 99% of the profits from any oil, gas or minerals they mine on land or sea around New Zealand.

This need not be the case, Young said.

Young emailed his proposals to NZ Petroleum and Minerals on May 14 which was the first day submissions were opened to the public.

Young proposes that profits from any mining done in New Zealand would see a 99% royalty return directly back to New Zealand. The mining company would get 1% royalty after expenses.

"Indonesia kept 97% and still multi-nationals lined up to develop their oil and gas. Norway banked $400 billion dollars over 40 years for the old people super fund. So why is Bridges keen to give it all away?"

Young also proposed that claims in the first 12 kms from shore be only owned by New Zealand individuals permanently living here. 

"The inshore stuff is the valuable stuff because locals are able to access it, whereas the deep offshore stuff… multi-nationals have the funds to investigate that."

"What’s happening with this present government is they’ve changed the rules. They want to charge a $50,000 amount and you can claim as much as you like of the sea under time priority. 

"At the moment, it’s $10 a square kilometre. So I put in that [claims fees] go up exponentially – so, let’s say $2, then $4 then $8 then $16 then $32 on each square kilometre you have.

"So it limits the size, because we want lots of small ones. I also made it so that the closer in to the shore, it’s cheaper for the locals to gain, and the further out where we can’t get to, the multi-nationals can start feeding out there."

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