Capital Markets: Fast-track ‘real game-changer’ for mining

Snowy River's underground gold mine project at Reefton is targeting gold production by the end of 2026.

THREE KEY FACTS

• Gold prices are soaring, attracting big companies to invest in New Zealand’s mineral sector.
• The Government aims to lift mineral exports to $3 billion by 2035, with new operations underway.
• Federation Mining’s Reefton project is set to create 250 jobs and contribute $350 million.

A minerals group says New Zealand’s time to shine is here with gold prices soaring and a new regulatory regime attracting interest from big companies that could spend hundreds of millions of dollars here developing operations.

Josie Vidal, chief executive of the New Zealand Minerals Council (formerly Straterra) said the fast-track legislation is a “real game-changer”.

The Government is pitching this to the world and at the March Infrastructure Investment Summit reiterated its goal of lifting mineral exports to $3 billion in 2035. Vidal said this is necessarily conservative but she believed an expanding industry could “blow this out of the water”.

She has spoken to American and Australian investors about new operations here. The gold price, helped by geopolitical uncertainty, has soared to record levels, touching US$3500 an ounce; spot prices have risen by a quarter so far in 2025, close to the 27% increase recorded for 2024.

“So the sooner you can get it out of the ground, the better, because it won’t stay like that forever,” Vidal said.

New Zealand Minerals Council CEO Josie Vidal.

“Our traditional trade and commodities have gone through changes. This is our moment in the sun and we should make the most of it – and at the moment, investing in minerals globally is the thing.”

Gold and coal are New Zealand’s top mineral exports but the Government has added 35 others to a critical minerals list, including sand and rare earth minerals.

Resources Minister Shane Jones has raised the ire of environmental groups worried about the impact of more mining, but cited the economic benefit of a new gold operation in Reefton as an example of how the sector can help the country. New Zealand’s next large-scale mining operation is on track to begin commercial production by next year, creating 250 local jobs and contributing $350 million to the coalition’s goal of doubling mineral exports revenue to $3b by 2035, he says.

The Snowy River underground gold mine project in Reefton, operated by Federation Mining, is targeting gold production by the end of 2026 following nearly 25,000m of exploration drilling.

“The project is a significant cause for celebration both for New Zealand’s minerals sector and for the West Coast community,” Jones said.

The target of the mining – known as the Birthday Reef – produced 733,000 ounces of gold over nearly 50 years from the early 1900s, and is one of the many historic prospects offering some of the best mining opportunities because of new and improved technology.

Vidal said Santana’s Otago gold project could also get up soon because of the fast-track process. She said there was a 12-week delay getting on to the list to be considered, which should be sped up, and warned that the country’s three-year election cycle worried some potential investors as a change of Government could mean a change in policy.

Mining operations had long lead-in times. “We would hope that reasonable voices would come out of any change of Government.”

Federation Mining has raised more than $200m in capital to progress its plans in Reefton – including attracting the interest of AustralianSuper, Australia’s largest superannuation fund.

Jones said: “While local investment has driven the Snowy River project forward, it is Australian capital that will take it to production – and you don’t get a better vote of confidence in a project than that of one of Australia’s largest investors.

He said in February alone, the project pumped $2.9m into the regional economy through suppliers, contracts and employee wages. Around $1m of that went directly to the West Coast.

Vidal said Jones – with his uncompromising enthusiasm for the resources sector – was very popular with Australian investors, who “liked the cut of his jib”.

She said sports clubs, schools, rescue helicopter services and other community groups benefit when mining operations start up.

In material released around the investment summit, Jones said the country had barely scratched the surface when it comes to potential income from minerals.

Gold and coal are the main drivers of economic activity for the minerals sector in New Zealand and will remain the backbone of our sector.

“But our geology means we have a varied mineral endowment,” Jones said.

“There is potential for us to develop critical minerals, including those needed for new technologies and a clean energy transition.”

The International Energy Agency estimates that to reach net-zero emissions by 2050, the world will need six times more minerals for low-emissions technology than are currently being extracted.

The production of electric vehicles, batteries, wind turbines and solar panels is already driving significant minerals demand, Jones said. “We have a choice to make – do we contribute to and benefit from this growing market, or do we become the recipients of other countries’ economic effort and output?”