Since 1983 we’ve kept mining out of the Coromandel

The First Gold Rush

The Coromandel Peninsula in the late 1800s to the early 1900s experienced a campaign of colonisation that primarily saw the whole of the Peninsula deforested, with gum digging, mining and finally settlement farming following.

The traditional owners of Kūaotunu, including Ngati Hei, were at this time alienated from much of their rohe and cheated out of the ownership of their land.

Two significant gold mines in the area were situated at ‘upper’ Kūaotunu and in the Waitaia. At the onset of the WWI the mines were abandoned.

Today, over 120 years later, tests carried out on the groundwater that issues from these mines record that the water is dangerous to human health with toxic carcinogens such as arsenic and cadmium still present.

The Second Gold Rush

In the early 1980s, the small Coromandel community of Kūaotunu became a battleground as local residents fought back against various overseas-owned multinational mining companies who were demanding the right to mine both private and state-owned land. At that stage, private land owners could not under law refuse miners access to their land. 

Grand statements were made by the mining companies about how they would establish opencast mines in the area and fill various valleys in Otama and Kūaotunu with toxic tailing dams. They also promised to generate employment and make Kūaotunu and the surrounding communities in the Mercury Bay area rich.

The Fight Back

This spectre of proposed mining activity generated much discussion in the small community, as it did in many other communities on the Peninsula, and led to the formation of the Kūaotunu Anti-Mining Action Group, or KAMAG.

 The group’s goal was to reject mining in the area and, if necessary through direct action, assist in the protection of the surrounding environment, its community and culture.

This protection came at a price for many of its members, as the next 15 years meant sacrifices on many fronts.

With other similarly determined groups on the Coromandel, a change was negotiated with the Government, and the Crown Minerals Act was amended to protect Conservation Land under Schedule 4 from mining, and to allow private landowners the right to refuse mining companies access over their lands.

This unbelievable achievement by a grassroots group even inspired a movie about the fight: The Znail Gang.

The March on Queen Street

In 2010, John Key’s National Government attempted to remove the Schedule 4 protection of the Conservation Estate north of the Kopu-Hikuai Road.

The result of this proposal saw between 40,000 and 50,000 New Zealand citizens march up Auckland's Queen Street to demand that the protection remain. Jacinda Arden proudly marched the protest route carrying a sign proclaiming ‘OURS NOT MINE’.

In the face of this public pressure the Government backed down from the proposal.

The Fight Continues

Today Kūaotunu and the area that stretches like a hammer to Te Rerenga and back down to Whitianga is subject to an Exploration Licence which is due to expire on the 30 April 2022. KAMAG notes that OceanaGold will have to carry out drilling operations before then. Once again KAMAG will ask our community to become active and to Lock the Gate against mining to protect our special communities in the area as well as the whenua (land), the ngahere (bush) and the moana (ocean) from this highly toxic and remorseless industry.