NEW ZEALAND

Pike River mine sold to Solid Energy

Pike River Coal has been sold to state-owned enterprise Solid Energy New Zealand under a conditional agreement, receivers for the mine said today. The company went into receivership after a mine explosion that killed the 29 workers in 2010. Before the disaster, the mine was valued at about $400 million.

Pike hydro mining operator worried mine could blow up

The former hydro-mining operator at Pike River says he left the mine after only three months because he was worried it could blow up.

Former Pike River Coal CEO Mr Whittall faces 12 criminal charges

The New Zealand Labor Department confirmed that Pike River Coal's former CEO Mr Peter Whittall faces 12 criminal charges over the 2010 mine explosion that killed 29 miners.

Charges filed in New Zealand 2010 mine explosion

New Zealand's Labour Department filed 25 criminal charges Thursday over safety and health violations at a coal mine where an explosion last year killed 29 miners.

New Zealand to expand coking coal exports with new project

Preliminary exploration work carried out by Solid Energy, New Zealand's state-owned coal producer, indicates there is potential for a combined underground and open-cut mining operation for the Liverpool project producing 500,000 mt/year of hard coking coal for the seaborne-traded market …

Five mining permits for New Zealand West Coast

Crown Minerals has granted five gold mining permits, one gold prospecting permit and one coal prospecting permit on the West Coast in the last month.

China coal giant bids for New Zealand's fatal Pike River mine

The Manawatu Standard reports giant Chinese state-owned Shanxi Coal is understood to be in the running to buy New Zealand's Pike River Coal as part of a joint bid with local miner Solid Energy. Bids closed a week ago, with four players making offers, sources said.

One Indian company is believed to have pulled out and another Indian company was still understood to be in the running. The state-owned mine operated by Solid Energy was put up for sale as part of a privatization programme by the New Zealand government and after an enormous methane explosion ripped through the mine near Greymouth on November 19 last year killing 29 men.

Mining company promises 600 new jobs for Otago

The expansion of New Zealand's largest gold mine will create nearly 600 jobs in east Otago, says international mining company Oceana Gold.

NZ coal mine faces opposition

Opposition is growing in New Zealand to a Perth-based company;s bid to mine on conservation land on the South Island.

Dispute halts New Caledonia nickel ore exports to South Korea

A dispute in the north of New Caledonia has stopped the export of nickel ore from the SMSP site to its South Korean partner, Posco. Members of the Kaala-Gomen tribe claim that the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples provides for them to have a share of the profit drawn from mining.

Quakes, Pike River hit Solid Energy's profit

Earthquake and disruptions related to the Pike River mining disaster slashed Solid Energy's profit by about $35 million.

Also, its renewable energy businesses are not profitable and made a loss of $17m in the year to June 30.

However, the state-owned coal miner's chairman, John Palmer, said the company produced a strong performance, with a 29 per cent increase in profit to $87.2m for the year to June 2011 from a 20 per cent lift in sales to $829m.

New Zealand open-cast coal mine wins approval

A proposed open-cast coal mine on West Coast conservation land has gained resource consents because of its economic benefits.

West Coast Regional Council released the decision yesterday to grant consents for a subsidiary of Perth-based Bathurst Resources Ltd to mine 200 hectares in the Mt Rochfort Conservation Area on Denniston Plateau, near Westport.

Pike miner cheats death again

Pike River mine survivor Daniel Rockhouse has escaped death once again when the Australian mine he was working in caved in. Rockhouse was one of two miners who survived the Pike River mine disaster last year. His brother Ben was one of 29 men who were killed.

New Zealand coal mine boss acknowledges problems

The boss of a New Zealand coal mine where 29 people died in an explosion last year has acknowledged the mine faced difficulties with finances, personnel and safety. In testimony this week at a formal inquiry into the methane-fueled disaster, Pike River

Only one mines inspector for whole of NZ, inquiry told

Updated at 7:24 pm on 19 July 2011 A health and safety inspector for the Department of Labour says it is not possible to fully service all mines, tunnels and quarries in New Zealand because of a lack of staff. Michael Firmin was giving evidence on

Low-energy coal in abundant supply – New Zealand coal boss

Strong export demand for high-energy coals is limiting the availability of coal to South Island consumers, according to a Christchurch coal company boss.

Mine blast blamed on safety

The explosion that ripped through Pike River mine last year had its origin in changes to mining regulations in the 1990s, a former chief inspector of coal mines told the inquiry into the tragedy.

Little: Mine safety changes needed

The Government cannot afford to wait for the completion of the Royal Commission into the Pike River Coal mine disaster to make mine safety changes in New Zealand, Andrew Little, former head of the Engineering, Printing and, Printing and Manufacturing Union (EPMU).

The chief executive of state-owned Solid Energy has talked critically of Pike River Coal

The chief executive of state-owned Solid Energy has talked critically of Pike River Coal at the Royal Commission of Inquiry this afternoon.

New Zealand inquiry hears testimony into cause of coal mine explosion that killed 29 workers

WELLINGTON, New Zealand – Financial pressures may have led a New Zealand coal mining operation to overextend itself before an explosion killed 29 workers last year, an energy executive testified Monday at an inquiry into the country's worst mine disaster

New Zealand PM says mining practices will change

New Zealand Prime Minister John Key has told The Australian newspaper there will be changes in New Zealand mine safety regulations. Key made the comments in an interview when asked about Pike River, the West Coast mine where a series of explosions left 29 men dead last November.

Over the weekend the same paper quoted a mining safety specialist who quit Pike River over concerns it was too dangerous as saying the mine lacked critical equipment required in Australian mines, which could have avoided the enormous methane explosion.

New Zealand Pike River death mine ‘was like mining from the 1960s’

The Australian reports a mining safety specialist who quit New Zealand's fatal Pike River coal mine over concerns it was too dangerous will present crucial expert testimony to the royal commission into the disaster, which killed 29 men. Peter Sattler went public last week for the first time to claim Pike River lacked critical equipment required in Australian mines, which could have avoided the enormous methane explosion that ripped through the mine near Greymouth on November 19.

The move comes as, for the first time since the blast, rescue experts prepare to enter the mine, in a step towards recovering bodies and recommissioning the operation.

New Zealand Greens launch anti-mining bill: Otago Daily Times

The Green Party of New Zealand is taking aim at coal with new legislation that would make coal miners bear the brunt of their emissions. According to the Otago Daily Times:

The Climate Change Response (Low Carbon Economic Development) Amendment Bill would amend the Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) to ensure all new activities and industries that use lignite, are fully liable for the costs of the greenhouse gas emissions they emit.

"Large scale lignite mining in Southland could see New Zealand's carbon emissions increase by as much as 10 million tonnes a year, when we already need to decrease them by more than 20 million tonnes a year," said the architect of the bill, Green MP Gareth Hughes.

SGS Awarded Analytical Testwork Contract by OceanaGold

SGS is pleased to announce that OceanaGold has awarded SGS New Zealand the contract to supply all analytical laboratory services to its Macraes and Reefton mines in New Zealand. SGS will assume responsibility for laboratory services starting on June 1, …

OceanaGold awards analytical testwork contract to SGS

SGS is pleased to announce that OceanaGold has awarded SGS New Zealand the contract to supply all analytical laboratory services to its Macraes and Reefton mines in New Zealand. SGS will assume responsibility for laboratory services starting on June 1, …