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What miners want

Seabed mining companies are targeting two key resources in Aotearoa’s oceans: iron-rich black sands off the west coast of the North Island, and phosphate nodules on the Chatham Rise

Our Black Sand

Along the North Island’s west coast, beautiful black sand beaches form a coastline that is unique in Aotearoa.
The sand here is largely made up of titanomagnetite (a mineral that contains iron, some titanium, and traces of vanadium), giving the beaches their distinctive black colour.
An even greater amount of this mineral lies beneath the seabed.

 

These ‘iron sands’ were created over millions of years, as our maunga - Taranaki, Pirongia and Karioi - slowly eroded, washing volcanic material into rivers and out to sea. Ocean currents then spread the sand north and south along 480 km of coastline from, Whanganui to the Kaipara Harbour, forming deposits in nearly 20,000 km2 of the adjacent seabed.
 

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Beneath the seabed

While the black sand we see on land is striking, the deposits beneath the seafloor are far larger.  They lie in layers up to 30 metres deep, in varying concentrations along the West coast.

The amount is difficult to quantify, as concentrations vary and insufficient research has been made public from across the extent of this sea area. 

As reference, Trans-Tasman Resources (TTR) claims there are 3.2 billion tonnes of vanadiferous titanomagnetite (VTM) across the South Taranaki Bight. Their operation aims to extract iron-ore, titanium, and vanadium from these sands.

These metals are used in steelmaking, high-strength alloys, some battery technologies (vanadium redox flow), and certain military and aerospace applications.

At its peak, almost the entire west coast was covered in prospecting or exploration permits. Today only TTR holds active permits here, but if consent is granted, other companies could return.​

Around the world, many similar deposits have been studied as potential sources of iron ore, but few have proven commercially viable.


Here in Aotearoa, we have stood against wannabe seabed miners for more than 20 years.
We will not let them steal our sand.

Phosphate nodules

Phosphate nodules are small, potato-sized lumps rich in phosphorus that lie on the surface of the seafloor in several parts of Aotearoa's waters. 
These nodules form extremely slowly, taking millions of years to grow just a few millimetres. They provide habitat for a range of marine life and are involved in cycling nutrients but scientists are still learning about the full role they play in the ocean ecosystem.

Chatham Rise Phosphate

Chatham Rise is an underwater plateau east of Aotearoa between 250 m and 450 m deep. The area where nodules are found out there covers thousands of square kilometres of seafloor.
 

Phosphate is mainly used to make fertiliser, and companies argue that mining would reduce New Zealand’s reliance on imports. Scientists warn, however, that dredging would remove nodules from the seafloor and smother nearby seabed life with sediment, with recovery taking decades or more.
 

Chatham Rock Phosphate (CRP) has been exploring this area for more than a decade and continues to seek approval to mine.

Around the world, phosphate nodules have been explored as a potential source of phosphorus, but no country has yet begun commercial seabed mining of nodules due to environmental concerns.

 

Our ocean is too precious to risk.

There Are Better Ways

​Aotearoa doesn’t need to trash the ocean to access minerals.
 

Iron and steel: Recycling and reusing scrap metal is far more sustainable than mining new iron sands. New steelmaking technologies are reducing carbon emissions, and alternative materials and circular design are helping us use less steel in the first place.
 

Phosphorus: We already import phosphate rock for fertiliser production. Smarter use of what we already have, reducing farm run-off, recovering phosphorus from wastewater and food systems, means we don’t need to strip-mine fragile ocean habitats.
 

Batteries: Salt-based and other next-generation battery technologies are emerging that don’t require vanadium or other minerals targeted by seabed mining.
 

Seabed mining is not the only option. With smarter recycling, innovation, and more efficient use of resources, we can meet our needs without putting our moana at risk.
 

Learn more about the impacts of seabed mining 

 


Join the movement to protect our moana 

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