Third sand mining consent sought

A third consent application to mine sand offshore from Mangawhai and Pakiri is before Auckland Council.

McCallum Brothers has applied to extract sand from a “mid-shore” depth of between 15 and 25 metres. It has applied to extract 125,000 cubic metres a year for a period of 35 years – more than double the length of time of its now-lapsed consent for nearshore mining. The lapsed consent was for 76,000 cubic metres a year for 14 years.

The application says that Pakiri sand supplies 43 per cent of the Auckland market for concrete manufacturing.

It also says that McCallum has engaged with mana whenua and has commissioned Ngati Manuhiri and Te Uri o Hau for cultural values assessments, which will be provided to Council upon completion.

The latest application has come to light following allegations from Friends of Pakiri and the Mangawhai Harbour Restoration Society that McCallum Brothers has been allowed to continue sand mining despite its consent for near-shore mining, having been lapsed for more than a year.

McCallum chief operating officer Shayne Elstob said the near-shore extraction could lawfully continue as it had applied for renewal and the delay was on Council. In a statement to Mahurangi Matters, Council acknowledged that it had had all the necessary information since December last year, but had delayed publicly notifying the consent because it had received yet another application.

“If the second application proceeds with public notification, the two applications will be notified together,” resource consent manager Ian Dobson said.

Council further acknowledged that in the meantime McCallum could legally continue to extract near-shore sand.

Meanwhile, a consent application by Kaipara Ltd for extraction further offshore has been paused while coastal experts investigate allegations that the sea floor has been damaged.

Council says delays in McCallum’s consent applications are also a result of its experts being occupied by Kaipara Ltd’s application.

If all three consents are granted, up to 300,000 cubic metres of sand could be extracted from Pakiri’s seabed each year, or six million cubic metres over the next 20 years.