The Barrytown Hall was enveloped in protest signs at a public meeting on Tuesday night over a proposed mineral sand mine, while others present asked for a job.
After being denied resource consent last year due to insufficient supporting information, TiGa Minerals & Metals is taking no chances this time, backing up its application with specialist reports and offering a raft of mitigation, from mining in strips, to noise bunds and reduced operating hours.
It is also front-footing the proposal, calling the public meeting and drop-in information sessions, and advocating for its application to be publicly notified to give everyone the chance to submit.
Opponents are also more vocal this time. Several protest signs were staked along the Coast Road before the meeting, around the hall and even up the passageway.
About 80 people attended the meeting.
TiGa had a detailed list of the 57 jobs hung up, and some people arrived asking for work.
Asked if they would truck heavy mineral concentrate to the rail head at Rapahoe, TiGa operations manager John Berry said the Westport and Greymouth ports were at an infant stage but it would need to get to rail, and the logical port was Timaru. However, the transport decision was not finalised.
Resident John Playter said there was talk the initial mine would lead into mining the Barrytown area in its entirety.
TiGa managing director Robert Brand said that was not correct and the mine site near Canoe Creek would not be strip mined — "not in my wildest dreams."
Large areas to the north were conservation land, so it would not be going there. However, another two areas of private land could be in its future sights, he said.
Asked about the potential for falling property values, Mr Brand said there was no factual evidence. He was told no industrial project had ever increased the value of property.
Coast Road Resilience Group spokeswoman Laksmi Crick said what she heard from the proposal was there would be a truck every 20 minutes — with trucks running seven days a week until 10pm.
Jennifer Noble said it was a "given" property prices would rise, wages would come into the district, businesses would grow and develop and young families come in, also winning applause.
Martin Bosch said everyone was going on about 25 mining trucks on the road, but there were over 1000 vehicles each day on that section of State Highway "and people are complaining about an extra 25".
Mr Brand said there would be an average of three truck and trailer movements every hour.
During his introductory remarks, Mr Brand said in 2015 a joint venture was formed with TiGa’s original company owners, and a group of Western Australians, called Barrytown JV Ltd. It later changed its name to TiGa Minerals & Metals but it had been the same company all of its life, since 2012.
"This has been a New Zealand company ... 30% of its shareholders are resident New Zealanders."
TiGa wanted an active mine of 64ha over five years; the consent application is for 12 years, which allows for preparatory and pre-mining development. Only 5ha would be disturbed at any one time, with continuous rehabilitation.
