New Treasury figures show last year the Government spent more than $3 million treating damage caused by coal mining at a single site on the West Coast – more than it collected in royalties for all coal mining nationwide the same year.
The Stockton mine is the country’s largest open-cast coal operation, and a fast-track listing would see its licence continue for another 25 years. Remediation efforts for historical mining are still underway.
Despite efforts by the mine’s operators to restore the health of nearby waterways, acid mine drainage poses a lingering and considerable threat to the freshwater ecosystems. According to the company’s annual report, DNA data appears to show “spectacular recovery” in nearby waterways. But publicly collected data from the surrounding area paints a different picture.
Read article: https://newsroom.co.nz/2024/12/02/all-of-govts-2024-coal-earnings-spent-treating-damages-at-a-single-mine/
