New Zealand's mineral sector contributes $1 billion to the economy, minister of energy and resources Simon Bridges says. Photo / NZ Herald
Taranaki oil and gas explorer Tag Oil, of Canada, is expanding into the New Zealand minerals sector through its 49 percent ownership of a listed Canadian explorer, Coronado Resources, which has been awarded five New Zealand mineral exploration permits to hunt for platinum in the South Island.
Coronado subsidiary Lynx
Platinum, was the only company awarded metallic minerals exploration licences in the government's New Zealand Platinum Tender 2013.
Of the five exploratory permits awarded, three cover 355 square kilometers east of Murchison, part of the Crown-owned conservation estate, with the remaining two covering a 168 sqkm area north of Invercargill. Each permit lasts for five years and allows the company to explore for metallic minerals. Lynx Platinum was the only company granted permits and will have to reapply for a mining permit if it makes any "economic discovery", minister of energy and resources Simon Bridges said in a statement.
"Lynx will spend around $3 million over the first three years, and this could rise to $7.5 million within five years if the initial work is successful," Bridges said. "It is encouraging to see a new minerals operator enter the New Zealand market, especially when the international price of metallic mineral commodities is low and investors are understandably selective about where in the world they put their money."
New Zealand's mineral sector contributes $1 billion to the economy in gross domestic product, Bridges said.
