New Zealand coal reserves are in excess of 15 billion tonnes, mainly in Waikato, Taranaki, West Coast, Otago and Southland. Over 80% of the reserves are in Southland lignite deposits. These were worth $100 billion in 2010. [1]
New Zealand coal reserves are in excess of 15 billion tonnes, mainly in Waikato, Taranaki, West Coast, Otago and Southland. Over 80% of the reserves are in Southland lignite deposits. These were worth $100 billion in 2010. [1]
The types of coal found in New Zealand include lignites, sub-bituminous, bituminous and semi-anthracite coals. [2] However, the geology of many coal fields can be complex, with significant structural tectonic disturbances caused by many fields being found near the boundaries between the Pacific and Indo-Australian tectonic plates that run through the country. [2] Unlike most of the world's coals, which are typically 300 to 350 million years old, New Zealand coals were formed between 30 and 70 million years ago. [3] This age difference means New Zealand coals have some valuable properties for specialist uses. [3]
Coal mining by Europeans commenced in New Zealand during the 1840s. It was conducted using hand tools until the early 1900s, when explosives and tools powered by compressed air began to be used. Most coal mining since the early 2000s has used open-cut techniques. [4]
Underground mining for coal is dangerous, and has led to many deaths and injuries in New Zealand. In March 1896, 65 coal miners were killed during the Brunner Mine disaster; as of 2021 this remained New Zealand's most deadly industrial accident. The Pike River Mine disaster in November 2010 caused the deaths of 29 coal miners. [4]
Burning coal for electricity contributes to New Zealand's greenhouse gas emissions. [5] [6] The Climate Change Commission has recommended that the use of coal be "phased out as soon as possible". [7] The New Zealand government has a goal of ending the use of coal and other non-renewables for power generation by 2030. [8]
In 2020 New Zealand imported 1.084 million tonnes of coal, of which 90 per cent was sourced from Indonesia and the remainder from Australia. Almost all of the imports were sub-bituminous coal, which produces large quantities of carbon emissions when burnt. [8] Two-thirds of the imported coal was used by the Huntly Power Station, with the remainder being used by New Zealand Steel and Golden Bay Cement. [7]
In May 2023 the New Zealand Government announced that New Zealand Steel would be provided with $NZ140 million in subsidies to transition away from burning coal as part its production processes; it is estimated that this will reduce New Zealand's total greenhouse gas emissions by one per cent. [9] In June that year the government implemented a policy which includes banning the installation of new low and medium temperature coal boilers from July 2023 and phasing out existing such boilers by 2037. [10]
Huntly is a town in the Waikato district and region of the North Island of New Zealand. It was on State Highway 1, 95 kilometres (59 mi) south of Auckland and 32 kilometres (20 mi) north of Hamilton. It is situated on the North Island Main Trunk (NIMT) railway and straddles the Waikato River. Huntly is within the Waikato District which is in the northern part of the Waikato region local government area.
New Zealand Steel Limited is the owner of the Glenbrook Steel Mill, a steel mill located 40 kilometres south of Auckland, in Glenbrook, New Zealand. The mill was constructed in 1968 and began producing steel products in 1969. Currently, the mill produces 650,000 tonnes of steel a year, which is either used domestically or exported. Over 90% of New Zealand's steel requirements are produced at Glenbrook, while the remaining volume is produced by Pacific Steel, a steel recycling facility in Ōtāhuhu, Auckland. The mill is served by the Mission Bush Branch railway line, which was formerly a branch line to Waiuku. Coal and lime trains arrive daily. Steel products are also transported daily. The mill employs 1,150 full-time staff and 200 semi-permanent contractors.
Sub-bituminous coal is a lower grade of coal that contains 35–45% carbon. The properties of this type are between those of lignite, the lowest grade of coal, and those of bituminous coal, the second-highest grade of coal. Sub-bituminous coal is primarily used as a fuel for steam-electric power generation.
Te Manatū WakaMinistry of Transport is the public service department of New Zealand charged with advising the government on transport policy. The Ministry works closely with other government transport partners, including the New Zealand Transport Agency (NZTA) to advance their strategic objectives.
Christchurch Girls' High School in Christchurch, New Zealand, was established in 1877 and is the second oldest girls-only secondary school in the country, after Otago Girls' High School.
Solid Energy was the largest coal mining company in New Zealand and is a state owned enterprise of the New Zealand Government.
Pike River Coal Ltd was a mining company listed on the New Zealand and Australian stock exchanges. Its primary operation was the Pike River Mine, the site of a mining disaster with 29 deaths on 19 November 2010.
The Brunner Mine disaster happened at 9:30 am on Thursday 26 March 1896, when an explosion deep in the Brunner Mine, in the West Coast region of New Zealand, killed all 65 miners below ground. The Brunner Mine disaster is the deadliest mining disaster in New Zealand's history.
Mining in New Zealand began when the Māori quarried rock such as argillite in times prior to European colonisation. Mining by Europeans began in the latter half of the 19th century.
Toi whakairo or just whakairo (carving) is a Māori traditional art of carving in wood, stone or bone.
French New Zealanders are New Zealanders who are of French ancestors or a French-born person who resides in New Zealand.
Glen Afton and Pukemiro are twin settlements in the Waikato District, in northern Waikato region of New Zealand's North Island. The nearest town is Huntly, some 14 km (9 mi) away.
Golden Bay is a large shallow bay in New Zealand's Tasman District, near the northern tip of the South Island. An arm of the Tasman Sea, the bay lies northwest of Tasman Bay and Cook Strait. It is protected in the north by Farewell Spit, a 26 km long arm of fine golden sand that is the country's longest sandspit. The Aorere and Tākaka rivers are the major waterways to flow into the bay from the south and the west.
Southland is New Zealand's southernmost region. It consists mainly of the southwestern portion of the South Island and Stewart Island/Rakiura. It includes Southland District, Gore District and the city of Invercargill. Murihiku Southland is bordered by the culturally similar Otago to the north and east, and the West Coast in the extreme northwest. The region covers over 3.1 million hectares and spans 3,613 km of coast. As of June 2023, Southland has a population of 103,900, making it the eleventh-most-populous New Zealand region, and the second-most sparsely populated.
The cartography of New Zealand is the history of surveying and creation of maps of New Zealand. Surveying in New Zealand began with the arrival of Abel Tasman in the mid 17th century. Cartography and surveying have developed in incremental steps since that time till the integration of New Zealand into a global system based on GPS and the New Zealand Geodetic Datum 2000.
The Onehunga Ironworks was a colonial-era iron smelting and rolling operation at Onehunga, on the Manukau Harbour,. It was at one time claimed to be the largest ironworks in the Southern Hemisphere. It is significant, both as the first large scale attempt to exploit New Zealand's iron-sand by direct reduction, and as a precursor of the modern steel industry of New Zealand.
Manufacturing in New Zealand contributed $23 billion (12%) of the country's gross domestic product and directly employed 241,000 people in 2017, while manufactured goods made up 52% of the country's exports by value. The food and beverage subsector alone contributed 32% of manufacturing's GDP and 71% of exports.
Blackball Museum of Working Class History (Mahi Tupuna) is a museum in Blackball, a small town on the West Coast of New Zealand, that opened in May 2010. The collection celebrates the role of working people in creating the nation and its wealth.
The Runanga Miners' Hall is a hall in the town of Runanga, on the West Coast of New Zealand's South Island. The current structure dates from 1937, and replaced an early miners' hall from 1908 that was destroyed by fire. The hall is notable for its place in the history of the organised labour movement in New Zealand, and was granted historic place category 1 status by Heritage New Zealand in 2013.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)| Coal types by grade (lowest to highest) |  | |
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Note: [1] Peat is considered a precursor to coal. Graphite is only technically considered a coal type. | ||