Bathurst Resources faces setbacks with Buller Plateaux coal mine application

The Environmental Protection Authority (EPA) has returned Bathurst Resources Ltd’s fast-track application for the Buller Plateaux Continuation Project, citing it as incomplete. The proposed project involves opening a major coal mine on the Denniston Plateau and Mt Frederick in New Zealand.

Environmental groups, including Forest & Bird and 350 Aotearoa, have raised significant concerns regarding the project’s ecological impact. Critics highlight potential damage to biodiversity hotspots, including threats to the Avatar moth, native land snails, and various lizard species. Forest & Bird noted that Bathurst’s own materials suggest a lizard salvage rate of less than one percent, far below the Department of Conservation’s best practice of over 80 percent.

Additional concerns involve water management and long-term rehabilitation. Modeling suggests the mine could require the active treatment of over 429 billion liters of water over 30 years. Conservationists are calling for the Denniston Plateau to be protected as a scientific reserve to prevent permanent damage to its unique ecosystems.