Aukland, New Zealand — The president of the world’s biggest gold miner gave New Zealand’s government a wakeup call during the keynote presentation at the recent New Zealand Minerals Conference, urging the country not to waste its untapped potential for gold and other minerals.
Pierre Lassonde, president of
Lassonde said Newmont’s Waihi operations, about 110 km southeast of Auckland — where the open-pit Martha mine is located within the township — was a model for Newmont’s worldwide operations in terms of community relations, environmental protection and networking with NGOs and local and national governments.
New Zealand has become known worldwide for its adherence to strong conservation codes, Lassonde said. He added that it was important to the project that the people of Waihi were able to trust the government to enforce standards.
“(New Zealand) is globally recognized as a clean, green country because of leadership in this area, and its Resource Management Act,” Lassonde told the audience.
However, Lassonde said, ambivalence at the government level is hampering the country’s mining industry.
“The government has given itself the finest tools in terms of environmental protection and monitoring, yet there is still a hesitancy to promote mineral development.”
If, for instance, 10 billion barrels worth of oil was discovered under the Coromandel Peninsula — an area known for its beauty as well as being the historic rich-grade epithermal gold-silver region where the Martha mine is located — would the people and government of New Zealand allow its development, Lassonde asked. Although it would bring in US$600 billion, create high-paying jobs, and provide other benefits, New Zealanders also want to protect the visual splendour of the country’s landscapes.
“The challenge the New Zealand government has is to articulate a clear vision . . . for the development of New Zealand’s natural resources for the benefit of its people,” Lassonde said. “That is where we are today.”
Not helping the scenario is the opposing actions of different government departments, he added, citing conflict between the Ministry of Economic Development and the Department of Conservation.
It’s up to the mining industry to lobby the Labour government regarding the country’s mining policies, and to seek a unified approach by the government to mining, he added.
Lassonde said the same sort of commodities bull market exists now as in the 1970s, when oil went from US$2.50 to US$50 per barrel, gold from US$35 to over US$800 per oz., and copper up to US$1.73 per lb.
Next year, he predicted that the price of gold could rise to around US$525 per oz. or higher. A likely catalyst would be further pressure on the American greenback caused by the country’s ever-mounting and unsustainable debt.
Exploration spending in New Zealand has increased dramatically and, according to government agency Crown Minerals, total land acquisition and exploration in the year ending March 2005 had jumped 129% to NZ$20.4 million (US$14 million), with a large part of that coming from new Australian and Canadian companies. A big slice of that also came from regional exploration by Newmont Waihi, which, in 2005, was expected to spend about NZ$6 million (US$4.1 million), similar to the previous year.
Newmont subsidiary, Newmont Waihi, is going through a transition, Lassonde noted — completing open-pit operations at the Martha mine next year and commissioning production from its Favona decline mine.
Lassonde did not respond to questions on whether Newmont is considering snatching up shares in New Zealand’s only other major gold miner,
— The author is a freelance writer based in Perth, Australia.
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