Schedule 4 Review What is Schedule 4? It is a section created under 1997 legislation that restricts access to minerals over a list of areas of Department of Conservation-managed land, where only underground mining activities can be approved by the Minister of Conservation. The schedule is attached to the Crown Minerals Act, under which mineral permits are granted by the government. Minerals permits can be granted over this land, but the scope for disturbance of the ground surface is severely restricted. Therefore one might expect the minerals subject to this Government’s stock take to focus upon high value low volume minerals deposits whose commercial viability may offer potential for an underground operation. How much land does it apply to? It applies to about 13% of the land area of NZ, about a third of the Conservation Estate and 30% of the total area of prospective land in New Zealand. Its area is more than 30,000 square km – about the size of Belgium. Most Crown lands hosting 70% of New Zealand’s minerals are administered by the Department of Conservation (DoC). Where is it located? National Parks account for most of the land area included in Schedule 4 and these are concentrated in the west of the South Island, Stewart Island and the centre and east of the North Island. It also includes DoC-managed land in the north of the Coromandel Peninsula, and small areas throughout NZ. If land is removed from schedule 4, what controls on mining remain? All activities (apart from sampling by hand which is not affected by schedule 4) need an access arrangement approved by the Minister of Conservation. Access arrangement applications are subject to thorough scrutiny by DoC and, if approved, come with extensive conditions that cover protection of the environment, public access and safety, monitoring, compensation, insurance, performance bonds, and a system for on-going work programme approval. They also include special conditions that are developed for each site that deal with site-specific issues. Comprehensive management plans (Conservation Management Strategies) have been drawn up by DoC for each region and these form part of the assessment process. Resource consents granted under the Resource Management Act by regional and district councils are needed also. How much of NZ’s land area is directly affected by mining at present? Mining and quarrying is directly affecting an area of about 4000 hectares, which is less than 0.02% of New Zealand’s total land area. This does not include lands upon which low impact activities, such as prospecting and exploration, are permitted. What is the value of the minerals being produced from that land? The ex-mine value (before further processing) is estimated at about $2,000 million for 2008. Its export value is at least $175,000 per hectare affected, which is the highest for any land use.
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