New Zealand is fortunate to have a mining industry that provides some of the vital minerals required for everyday modern life, contributing socioeconomic and environmental benefits to the country.
NEW ZEALAND MINING SPOTLIGHT
Given the global geopolitics around the ownership of critical minerals, and who they are being shared with, there is a growing understanding of and interest in them.
These minerals – including lithium, cobalt, rare earth elements, nickel, copper, and many more – are essential for the quality of life many are accustomed or aspire to.
Indeed, almost everything people depend on every day relies on minerals, from phones and computers to cars and refrigerators, and this will only increase in a green tech future.
Soaring gold prices, meanwhile, have also got people’s attention as a safe haven in times of political and economic turmoil.
In New Zealand, the government is enabling mining and committed to doubling exports from the industry in a number of ways.
This includes releasing A Minerals Strategy for New Zealand to 2040 and A Critical Minerals List for New Zealand in January 2025, supported by updated information from GNS Science mapping the mineral potential of New Zealand.
Perhaps one of the biggest game-changers, however, has been the passing of the Fast-track Approvals Act (FTAA) in December 2024.
There has been international interest in this law as its purpose is to “facilitate the delivery of infrastructure and development projects with significant regional or national benefits”.
FTAA’s aim is to get important projects up and running without them being drowned in red tape and delayed for many years. The value of this new law is in the ‘one-stop shop’ approach to consenting projects, which saves time and money by allowing applications to be considered in their entirety by a group of experts.
This is particularly important for the mining industry as to get a mine up and running in New Zealand, it requires applications to numerous different government departments that may treat them in different ways, with different timeframes, and sometimes with the desire to delay or block applications if they have prejudices or other priorities ahead of mining.
Mining and quarrying projects listed in the act include mineral sands, gold, coal, and seabed mining, whilst unlisted projects are also aiming to go through the fast-track process.
Companies are currently making applications for consideration under FTAA, having opened in February 2025, as the New Zealand government’s support for mining being part of the country’s economic growth is increasingly noticed by global markets.
Q&A WITH NEW ZEALAND MINERALS COUNCIL
Following a recent rebrand, we speak to the New Zealand Minerals Council’s CEO, Josie Vidal, about the new name advocating for the country’s mining and minerals sectors.
Firstly, please introduce us to the New Zealand Minerals Council as the industry association representing the New Zealand mining sector.
Josie Vidal, Chief Executive (JV): The New Zealand Minerals Council replaced the name Straterra in April 2025. With the global interest in mined minerals, particularly critical minerals, we believed it was time to better align ourselves with a name that means something to both New Zealanders and those in the global supply chain.
I’m a great believer in keeping it simple and we want people to be able to link our name to what we do, connect with us easily, and understand that minerals are important to the New Zealand economy.
We’re a not-for-profit organisation and our membership includes mining companies, explorers, researchers, and service providers that support the extractives industry.
The New Zealand Minerals Council’s member charter states that our purpose is to enable socially and environmentally responsible mining, providing minerals for a sustainable and resilient future and enduring value for all New Zealanders.
What that means on a daily basis is a small team based in Wellington, near the base of our central government, poring through proposed policy, rules, and law changes to ensure the extractives industry gets a say in change and is not victim to any unintended consequences that disrupt business.
We do this at a local government level as well, mostly in the parts of New Zealand where mining is impacted by policy and plan changes relevant to that region.
The primary role of the New Zealand Minerals Council is advocacy, and as part of that we need to talk to stakeholders and the general public to ensure they understand the vital role minerals play in all our lives and why New Zealand needs to be making the most of its mineral endowment with enabling and enduring policy and law.
Our Mining means progress page shows the work mining companies are doing and introduces the range of people who work in mining and are committed to good environmental outcomes.
“With the global interest in mined minerals, particularly critical minerals, we believed it was time to better align ourselves with a name that means something to both New Zealanders and those in the global supply chain”
Josie Vidal, CEO, New Zealand Minerals Council
What critical role do mined minerals play in the modern world, and what benefits do they bring to the everyday lives of people in New Zealand?
JV: Like everywhere else in the world, we rely on minerals for energy, technology, medicine, food production, infrastructure, housing, communications, and pretty much everything you can think of. We often point out that when it comes to the origin of all the things we need, if it wasn’t farmed, it was mined – and farming relies on mined minerals.
Mining makes a significant contribution to the New Zealand economy, particularly in regional areas where mining takes place. About 7,470 people are employed in the extractives sector and the economic contribution is NZD$2.83 billion to GDP annually.
The products of New Zealand’s mines make a major contribution to the country and its economy, and there remains a lot of untapped potential to source the minerals the world can’t get enough of to fuel a low emissions future and sustain big data centres running artificial intelligence (AI).
Our mining industry is small compared to other mining jurisdictions, and we felt it was important in developing a minerals strategy that some of the existing mined minerals should be part of the critical minerals list, including gold and coal. Our critical minerals list reflects our unique environment.
In addition to the minerals already mined, there is scope for some other minerals, including those in mineral sands, that are being mined or will be soon.
Whilst thermal coal is not on the critical minerals list – metallurgical coal is – that does not mean it is not critical to the New Zealand economy, and this is noted in the minerals strategy.
Renewable energy relies on the sun shining, the wind blowing, and the rain falling. When that doesn’t happen, coal is there as a back-up to ensure the lights stay on and businesses can keep running.
In New Zealand, there is a risk to energy security without coal, and this was realised in winter last year. Due to supply constraints, extremely high electricity prices saw manufacturing plants close temporarily – then permanently – and put pressure on ordinary New Zealanders who are already struggling with the cost of living.
Domestically, coal is also used in steel making; cement and lime manufacturing; food processing including milk powder and other dairy products; commercial hothouse heating; timber, wool, and leather processing; and commercial and public facility heating, including schools, universities, and hospitals.
Gold and metallurgical coal are our main exports from mining, so they are critical to the government’s goal of doubling the value of our mineral exports to NZD$3 billion by 2035.
An estimated 2.6 million tonnes of coal are mined annually for both domestic use and exporting, all from open cast mines. We export primarily to Japan, South Korea, China, and India, but also Canada, Saudi Arabia, and Australia, and export markets are strong.
Some New Zealand coal has highly sought-after properties, such as low sulphur and ash content, and superior “swelling” properties for use in blast furnaces. This coal is exported to steelmakers in Japan, India, South Korea, and Australia. At this stage, coal remains essential to steel production.
The reality is the world still needs and is still using coal. As long as there is an international market for New Zealand’s metallurgical coal, there remains potential for growth in the value of exports.
Whilst there is more support for mining, it is still a small industry and there won’t be a mine on every corner.
Mining has the advantage of being a highly productive industry capable of contributing to economic growth with well-paid jobs – the median mining income is 50 percent higher than the New Zealand average (NZD$92,790 vs NZD$59,030 in 2023 according to Stats New Zealand data) – and an increase in export revenue.
The mining and exploration sector is ranked number one in New Zealand for both labour and land use productivity. New Zealand’s productivity ranking is generally low compared to other developed countries, particularly within the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).
“The primary role of the New Zealand Minerals Council is advocacy, and as part of that we need to talk to stakeholders and the general public to ensure they understand the vital role minerals play in all our lives and why New Zealand needs to be making the most of its mineral endowment with enabling and enduring policy and law”
Josie Vidal, CEO, New Zealand Minerals Council
Equally, how do you work to ensure decision-makers in government understand the value of responsible mining and its contribution to the well-being of New Zealanders?
JV: This is an important question. New Zealand has the advantage of a relatively stable government with both of the main political parties – National and Labour – being somewhat centrist.
We have Mixed Member Proportional representation in New Zealand, which means ruling governments can be made up of a number of parties supporting one of the two main parties. We currently have three parties making up the ruling government; our elections are every three years, and the next one is in 2026.
As our primary role is advocacy, our daily work includes meeting with decision-makers and those who support them in developing policy, rules, and laws to keep them apprised of the value of mining to the economy and well-being of New Zealanders. We are based in the capital city of Wellington so we can be quickly accessible to decision-makers.
We make submissions to the government, appear before select committees when they are considering law changes to explain the position of the mining industry, and engage through media to explain our position on what the government is doing.
Our organisation is apolitical, which means we engage with all politicians to ensure they understand the value of the mining industry. With a relatively short election cycle, it is important any potential new government knows what we do and why.
With a new government, we provide a Briefing to Ministers, which we share with any ministers likely to have an influence on the mining industry, and we meet with key ministers regularly to work through the opportunities and issues we raise for their term of government.
How important is a collaborative, reasonable, and responsible approach to engaging with government and the public on issues in the mining sector?
JV: Our approach to advocacy is to promote education, facts, science, evidence, and reasoned discussions.
Sadly, we are seeing the world over that some politically focused environmental organisations are swinging way wide of environmental issues and taking an approach that extends to aggression and violence.
This is filtering through to New Zealand and we have seen some unpleasant and illegal protest action against mining, which has resulted in arrests and court charges.
In speaking to activists, it seems they want to promote de-growth, de-population, de-industrialisation, and people living with less and going back to some kind of pre-industrial lifestyle.
Some of their supporters are unaware of just how extreme the plans are, and it is hard to see generations for whom life has never been easier when it comes to access to food, shelter, healthcare, education, transport, technology, lifestyle, etc. accepting a world that would take that away.
The 2025 Edelman Trust Barometer, an internationally respected temperature test of what the public are thinking and reacting to globally, is grim reading. It shows that 40 percent of those surveyed see hostile activism as a viable means to drive change, which involves:
- Attacking people online
- Intentionally spreading disinformation
- Threatening or committing violence
- Damaging public or private property
Drilling down on the demographics, 53 percent of those aged 18-34 support hostile activism.
We will continue to seek a collaborative, reasonable, and responsible approach to engagement on mining, and you have to hope that wins at the end of the day.
How does the New Zealand Minerals Council enable socially and environmentally responsible mining in the country?
JV: It is worth noting that New Zealand’s contribution to the global supply chain of mined minerals comes from highly regulated mines governed by strict health and safety and employment laws as well as stringent environmental regulations.
Whilst this regulatory environment can be challenging for businesses, the plus side is we can assure those in the supply chain that no stone has been left unturned when it comes to caring for people and places.
As the organisation advocating for the industry, we want to preserve and build on its social licence, which is stronger in communities where there is mining. People in those areas – mainly Waikato and Coromandel in the North Island, the West Coast, and Otago in the South Island – have a greater understanding of how mining works, including the environmental protection measures taken, the direct economic contribution to their area, and the social contribution by miners and mining companies.
That social contribution can include sponsorship and financial support for sports clubs and schools, building and subsidising housing, paying for a community’s rescue helicopter, and supporting the arts and community assets.
Can you also tell us how the New Zealand Minerals Council champions health and safety in mining?
JV: I sit on the board of MinEx, the organisation promoting health and safety in New Zealand extractives.
MinEx works with government and industry to implement new legislation, regulation, and training so every quarry and mine puts the health and safety of its workers first. The organisation feeds important information out to the industry weekly and provides relevant training around the country.
As I’ve stated, New Zealand has strict health and safety and employment laws to protect workers.
How do you see the mining industry in New Zealand developing over the next five years?
JV: I believe there is huge potential for mining in New Zealand and that we can meet the government’s goal of doubling mineral exports by 2035 and, in fact, hit it out of the park. Mining in New Zealand is a story about opportunities.
If you look at our membership, we have a mix of the big mining companies such as OceanaGold and Bathurst Resources Limited; a range of New Zealand-owned mining companies such as New Zealand Coal and Carbon and Birchfield Coal Mines; gold mines close to full production such as Federation Mining; Santana Minerals on the fast-track list to realise a significant gold deposit in Central Otago; and a number of junior gold miners attracting investors such as RuaGold and SirenGold.
We also have companies mining critical minerals in our mineral sands, including Westland Mineral Sands. Going through the fast-track process is Manuka Resources’ Taranaki vanadium titano magnetite (VTM) iron sands project, which has massive potential to boost New Zealand’s minerals exports and create jobs and wealth in the Taranaki region. This is a seabed mining project within New Zealand’s exclusive economic zone.
Given both the activity and prospectivity, we have a host of members that focus on exploration and mine management, mining equipment, professional services, and insurance, and this is a growing membership area. Some of these members are recognised international names that are highly regarded globally.
The price of gold, the need for coal to make steel, the global race for critical minerals, and the geopolitics involved in all of this means mining is being talked about, focused on, and is attracting investment interest.
So, as I said earlier, I think this really is New Zealand’s time to make the most of its mineral wealth and to do so in an environmentally responsible way, with the best care and attention paid to our human resources.
Lastly, what are the New Zealand Minerals Council’s priorities in order to continue representing the New Zealand mining sector?
JV: Our biggest order of business is to ensure either side of our main political parties – centre right and centre left – continue to support enabling policy and law for the extractives sector.
New Zealand has a small population of just over five million people. This means we aren’t awash in capital and require capital investment from other countries for significant developments such as mines.
Investors want to see stable government when it comes to policy and law around their investments. So, we don’t want to see wild swings or new governments coming in and undoing the positive work that has been done so far to unlock New Zealand’s mining potential.
We want the government to be proud of the contribution mining makes to the economy and promote the industry.
One of the unique features of New Zealand mining is it is an important part of our identity to work with the tangata whenua – the Indigenous Māori people of New Zealand – as they are the original caretakers of the land.
Māori have significant interests in the resources sector and in retaining access to and developing minerals for historical, cultural, and economic reasons. They have been extracting mineral resources for centuries, and today, many Māori work and have business interests in the sector.
The New Zealand Minerals Council is also committed to promoting women in the industry’s workforce, and three years ago we started our Women in Extractives event, which includes awards with the Aggregate and Quarry Association and MinEx. Women make up 8.8 percent of the mining and exploration workforce.
Our biggest challenge remains countering the barrage of misinformation about mining that is not based in science, evidence, and facts, but more in emotions and ideology. Whilst it is important to acknowledge how people feel about things, it is 2025 and we have to back science!
NEW ZEALAND MINERALS COUNCIL PARTNER
