Campaign against coal mining in Canterbury

In mid-Canterbury coal is mined in the Malvern Hills by Bathurst Resources. The coal is mainly burned by Fonterra to dry milk powder. The dairy industry is Aotearoa’s second-largest coal user. Bathurst is seeking to expand the coal mine so that annual production, when burned in the dairy factories of Canterbury, will send half a million tonnes of CO2 into the air.

Right now Bathurst are permitted to mine 20,000 tonnes of coal per year; however Selwyn District Council (which handles their consents relating to the land) has found that truck movements from the mine suggest much more is being taken. Bathurst are now applying to expand the mine by about 18 hectares (the Overseas Investment Office has recently approved the purchase of the land) and are also applying for retrospective consent for the additional coal that they have already mined. Currently they are mining illegally. Overall they are applying to mine 185,000 tonnes of coal per year which when burned will produce half a million tonnes of CO2 every year which will further accelerate climate change. We are in the middle of a climate emergency, any attempts to expand coal mining pushes us further into crisis.

The mine expansion will also have devastating effects on the rivers of the Te Waihora catchment, home of the critically endangered Kowaro (Canterbury mudfish). The mine’s consents relating to water are monitored by Environment Canterbury and Bathurst have a history of failing to protect nearby waterways from sediment runoff from the mine, on average infringing against their water discharge conditions about once a month.

Extinction Rebellion are campaigning to close the mine for climate repairs. We are asking that the operation be scaled back to the consented 20,000 tonnes of coal per year and a planned retirement of the mine within 5 years. We are asking Bathurst to provide job security for their employees until the land is remediated, and we are asking the government to set aside a portion of their green jobs budget to assist workers transitioning from the fossil fuel industry.

A large number of people are donating their time and energy and passion to this campaign - all unpaid - but we do have costs to cover for promotion, sign printing, transport, etc. Please consider donating to help us make this change happen. And please also share this with friends and family to raise awareness of this important issue. Grassroots activism like this relies on grassroots support - thank you!

Extinction Rebellion is committed to peaceful, non-violent protest. When enough people join together we will show decision makers it’s time for change.