Govt grants mining licence in marine protected area The Government is making a mockery of our marine protections by granting a mining licence for Chatham Rise Phosphate to mine for phosphate in a marine protected area, the Green Party said. Chatham Rock Phosphate was granted a mining permit today, the first granted under the amended Crown Minerals Act which came into effect in May. The mining permit is in a benthic protection area which means it is an area where the fishing industry is prohibited from bottom trawling or dredging. “Previous Governments have legally protected the important ecological characteristics of the seafloor of the Chatham Rise, whereas this National Government is prepared to allow a company to dig it up,” said Green Party oceans spokesperson Gareth Hughes. “Chatham Rise Phosphate wants to vacuum up the seafloor in an area where the seafloor is protected from the damage caused by bottom trawling and dredging: it’s nonsensical, and the Government should rule it out. “All the creatures that live on the seafloor will be killed during the mining process, as they are sucked up in what is essentially a big vacuum. “This proposal risks our clean, green reputation. “If we trash the environment we will trash our reputation and it will damage us economically sooner or later.”
Posted on: Fri, 14 Mar 2014 20:02:22 +0000
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