Northern Advocate
  • Northern Advocate home
  • Latest news
  • Business
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Sport
  • Property
  • Video
  • Death notices
  • Classifieds

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • On The Up
  • Business
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Rural
    • All Rural
    • Dairy farming
    • Sheep & beef farming
    • Horticulture
    • Animal health
    • Rural business
    • Rural life
    • Rural technology
  • Sport
  • Property
    • All Property
    • Residential property listings

Locations

  • Far North
  • Kaitaia
  • Kaikohe
  • Bay of Islands
  • Whangārei
  • Kaipara
  • Mangawhai
  • Dargaville

Media

  • Video
  • Photo galleries
  • Today's Paper - E-Editions
  • Photo sales
  • Classifieds

Weather

  • Kaitaia
  • Whangārei
  • Dargaville

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • Sunlive
  • ZM
  • The Hits
  • Coast
  • Radio Hauraki
  • The Alternative Commentary Collective
  • Gold
  • Flava
  • iHeart Radio
  • Hokonui
  • Radio Wanaka
  • iHeartCountry New Zealand
  • Restaurant Hub
  • NZME Events

SubscribeSign In
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Home / Northern Advocate

Minister asked to clean up Puhipuhi's toxic mercury mine

Northern Advocate
7 Feb, 2019 01:00 AM2 mins to read

Subscribe to listen

Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber?  Sign in here

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
Save

    Share this article

Rusting tanks at the old mercury mine site at Puhipuhi.

Rusting tanks at the old mercury mine site at Puhipuhi.

Members of the Puhipuhi Mining Action Group headed to Waitangi yesterday to ask Conservation Minister Eugenie Sage to support the remediation of an old mercury mine at the settlement.

Ngāti Hau kaumatua Te Raa Nehua led the delegation.

The group has been asking since 2015 for the toxic mine opening and surrounds on Puhipuhi Mountain, 30km north of Whangārei, to be fixed and sealed.

Scientific analysis of samples shows mercury is still being released from the site.

The Northland Regional Council (NRC) and local hapū Ngāti Hau spent 12 months testing water and sediment samples from a number of sites around and below the old mercury mine.

A report from NRC states: "All the sites showed test results above the trigger limits for mercury in sediments. The results ranged from two to 28 times for seven of the sites, with the old mine dam outlet over 500 times greater than the trigger limit."

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

A study by geologists from the School of Earth Sciences at Melbourne University showed similar results, Puhipuhi Mining Action Group (PMAG) said.

Mercury leachate from the site potentially goes into Northland's biggest water catchment and from there into Kaipara Harbour and the Tasman Sea.

A Niwa study for the integrated Kaipara Harbour Management Group said the greatest amount of sediment into the harbour comes from the Hikurangi Swamp area.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

That catchment is fed by the Waiotu, Waiariki and Whakapara Rivers which flow from Puhipuhi then, via the Wairua, Mangakahia and Northern Wairoa Rivers, into the harbour.

PMAG said the immediate priority was to stop the mercury at its source by remediating the old mine: "Work that should have been done decades ago."

The Environment Ministry holds an annual $2.63 million Contaminated Sites Remediation Fund [CSRF], available to regional councils and unitary authorities for the remediation of sites that pose a risk to human health and the environment.

Regional councils and unitary authorities submit information on contaminated sites they consider priorities and the 10 sites determined as posing the greatest risks are placed on the CSRF Priority List. Not all contaminated sites are eligible for funding.

Discover more

Ballance Agri-Nutrients has big plans for North

05 Feb 10:00 PM

Giving thanks on Waitangi Day

05 Feb 10:30 PM

Long dry spell endangering kiwi in Bay of Islands

06 Feb 11:00 PM
New Zealand

Waterfall shot catches the eye of World Photography Awards

04 Feb 10:40 PM

Eugenie Sage is also the Associate Minister for Environment.

Mercury was mined on Puhipuhi off and on until 1945.

Save

    Share this article

Latest from Northern Advocate

Northern Advocate

The Good Drop: Warehouse, Salvation Army team up for textile recycling

Northern Advocate

Police name person who died in early morning Kaitāia crash

Northern Advocate

Kaipara mayoral hopefuls on rates, museums and what they would do differently


Sponsored

Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Latest from Northern Advocate

The Good Drop: Warehouse, Salvation Army team up for textile recycling
Northern Advocate

The Good Drop: Warehouse, Salvation Army team up for textile recycling

Donors receive a 10% voucher for clothing purchases over $30 as an incentive.

14 Jul 04:00 AM
Police name person who died in early morning Kaitāia crash
Northern Advocate

Police name person who died in early morning Kaitāia crash

14 Jul 02:07 AM
 Kaipara mayoral hopefuls on rates, museums and what they would do differently
Northern Advocate

Kaipara mayoral hopefuls on rates, museums and what they would do differently

14 Jul 12:00 AM


Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky
Sponsored

Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky

06 Jul 09:47 PM
NZ Herald
  • About NZ Herald
  • Meet the journalists
  • Newsletters
  • Classifieds
  • Help & support
  • Contact us
  • House rules
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Competition terms & conditions
  • Our use of AI
Subscriber Services
  • The Northern Advocate e-edition
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Subscribe to the Northern Advocate
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • The Northern Advocate
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • Waikato Herald
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • Digital self-service advertising
  • Book your classified ad
  • Photo sales
  • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP