Chatham Rock Phosphate Chatham Is Novem ber 2014 Overview Benefits - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

Chatham Rock Phosphate

Chatham Is November 2014

Overview

 Benefits to NZ and Chatham Is  Mining method  Key effects and mitigation  Sustainable management of NZ’s natural

resources

Mining permit area -

250 km from Chatham Is. 450 km from NZ

Marine consent area reduced

Benefits for NZ

 Only major NZ rock phosphate deposit  Replace some of the 1m tonne imports – mostly

from Morocco/Western Sahara

 $900m value to NZ – (NZIER)  Import substitution & exports - $250m annually  Environmental benefits of end product – low

cadmium & direct application means less nutrient run-off to water

 New industry – undersea mining

Chatham Is benefits

 Environmental Compensation Trust - $350,000 a

• year. Focus on Chatham Rise, where impacts are

 Chatham Is Trust - $280,000 a year:  Enhance farming (could include fertiliser)  Enhance economic development opportunities  Educational and cultural support  Other community activities  Local involvement on trusts to decide how money

spent

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Chatham Is benefits continued

 CRP will support local efforts for share of

Government royalty

 2 % of turnover or 10 % of pre-tax profit  Committed to buying/using Chatham Is input as

much as possible – e.g. monitoring, staff on ship

 Environmental Reference Group – island

representation

 Want ideas

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Mining method

Boskalis is the technology partner Existing technology with flexible connections

Mining plan and effects

 Mine 30 km2 a year in waters 350-450m  Total 450 km2 over 15 years (0.5% of Chatham Rise

shallower than 1000m)

 1050 km2 mining exclusion area (1/5th of consent area)  Minimal impacts on spawning or juvenile fish habitat  Effects confined to a few km  Will remove organisms in mining area. Sedimentation

will affect organisms alongside mining blocks

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Sediment plume

Modelling shows sediment will be contained to small area and will dissipate within a few days All experts agreed:

Sediment model is appropriate and

conservative

If the amount of fine material doubled, the

plume would still be within the bounds of

• riginal plots

Benthic communities and coral

Unavoidable impact in mined areas. But:

• CRP will protect the

most important areas

• Area mined each

year is small

• CRP proposes

environmental compensation

Coral Communities & Mining Plan

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coral communities

(1700 m buffer)

mining blocks no-mining areas

So what about BPAs?

• Created by fishing industry for

fishing industry, not equivalent to marine reserves

• Set aside areas not actively

bottom trawled

• Prohibit bottom trawling only,

not any other activity

• Same or better biodiversity

protection can be achieved

Chatham Rise ecosystem

 No reduction in primary productivity – growth

• f phytoplankton not affected so energy into

ecosystem unchanged

 Key habitats within area protected through no-

mining areas

 Size of affected area is small – no noticeable

effects on Rise ecosystem

Scale is important

Chatham Rise bottom trawl footprint 1990-2010

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CRP permit area

Fishing

Fishing experts agreed:

• The marine consent area is not important area

for commercial fish species or spawning

• “Worst-case” fish stock modelling showed low to

negligible effect on major fish stocks

Compare effects with trawling

 CRP annual footprint – 30 km2  CRP 15 year footprint – 450 km2  Fish trawling annual footprint on Rise – 18,000

km2

 Fish trawling annual footprint in EEZ - 50,000 km2  Fish trawling annual new seafloor in EEZ - 3,000

km2

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Marine mammals

Sound:

• Mammals expected to move away
• Exclusion zone prevents any physical effects

Operational considerations:

• Collision and entanglement unlikely to pose a risk
• 30 years of observations indicates that area is not

an important habitat for baleen whales (most sensitive group of marine mammals)

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Seabirds

• No biological

attractors to vessel

• Best practice

lighting mitigation plan

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Toxicology and radiology

Experts agreed that:

• Toxicology effects in water column will be very

low

• Radiological risk for marine life is negligible
• No biomagnification of uranium or other

metals in fish, but CRP will monitor it anyway

• Uranium accumulation in soils has and will

continue to occur from use of all phosphatic fertilisers

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Balancing exercise

• CRP’s project provides unique
• pportunity for NZ
• Benefits are significant
• Environmental risks are low or can

be managed properly

• Consistent with “sustainable

management”

Summary

 Detailed conditions will manage concerns raised

by submitters

 This will include significant monitoring  CRP committed to working with Island to support

economy and way of life

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Thank you