Trans-Tasman Resources (TTR) is planning to have another go at getting permission to vacuum ironsands from the seabed off the Patea coast.
Late last year, TTR was denied a consent to mine ironsand from the seabed by the Environmental Protection Authority (EPA).
The company considered appealing that decision to the High Court but abandoned that option. Now it has decided to lodge a new application with the EPA.
TTR said it accepted the criticism it received with its first application, and had addressed what it called "areas of uncertainty".
Those were highlighted by the EPA which had concerns with the extent and significance of any adverse environmental effects on fishing interests and iwi.
The company has now said it had resumed engaging with various stakeholders, had undertaken further scientific studies on its intended operations, and had updated its models as it sought the new consent. It had also re-assessed economic benefits at a regional level "rather than just the legislatively required New Zealand benefit".
In its initial application, TTR said it planned to excavate up to 50 million tonnes of sand each year from the seabed, separating iron ore from the sediment and returning 90 per cent of the sand back to the ocean floor. The ore would be loaded into purpose-built ships for export to Asian steel mills.
Despite falling global iron ore prices, the company argued it would be competitive because the cost of mining offshore is a fraction of onshore hard-rock iron ore mining.
The project area is off the coast of Kakaramea and Manutahi in water between 20m and 42m deep. It is believed TTR had invested about $65 million in the project.
The EPA decision had a significant impact on TTR's operation. It lost some investors, saw directors leave the board, and most of its fulltime staff have been laid off with just a skeleton staff retained to work on the new marine consent. TTR has not said when it would lodge the new application.