Rare snails put jobs on line on West Coast

The giant snail powelliphanta augustus. Picture / Save Happy Valley Coalition

New Zealand's biggest opencast coalmine may be kneecapped by a snail.

Solid Energy has suspended mining in part of its Stockton mine, 37km northeast of Westport, after more rare giant land snails were found at Mt Augustus last week.

The area is home to the powelliphanta augustus land snail, which conservationists claim is a rare sub-species.

Contractors working on the ridgeline were stood down on Friday. Staff layoffs will start in a few months if Solid Energy does not receive permission to mine because it will have to cancel some international coal orders, says Buller Mayor Martin Sawyers.

Buller's recent economic revival had been mainly due to coalmining, Mr Sawyers said. Without the ridgeline production, Stockton mine's output would drop from 2.5 million tonnes a year to 1 million tonnes.

"By July, 115 jobs would go and by October another 120 to 130 jobs."

The mine provided 436 direct jobs and 1500 indirect jobs in Buller, he said. It injected $26 million directly and $104 million indirectly into the local economy.

"At a national level we're talking about a resource of $300 million to $400 million. That equates to probably direct economic impact of over $1 billion."

The company is waiting for permission to move the snails by hand and by excavating clumps of vegetation and soil with heavy machinery.

Mr Sawyers said the Department of Conservation had taken nine months to provide Conservation Minister Chris Carter with the information required.

"It's now before the minister, and I think enough is enough. It's time for the minister to make decisions because it's starting to affect our community."

Solid Energy communications director Vicki Blyth confirmed that the company had suspended mining operations along the ridgeline after more snails were found.

The contractor building a rockfall fence there had moved to other mine work in the meantime.

A spokesman for Mr Carter said Solid Energy had responded to some advice from DoC last week.

"A report is coming to the minister early next week on which he will be able to make a decision," said the spokesman, Nick Maling.

Some of the nine months' delay was due to new information claiming the snail was a new sub-species, but most of it was related the High Court case over ridgeline mining, he said.

Further delay could depend on Solid Energy's appeal against the court's decision. The court said Solid Energy must apply to the Ministers of Conservation and Energy to move most of the snails with heavy machinery.

Mr Maling did not know how long Mr Carter's decision would take.

Buller Miners president Dave Reece said mineworkers were told yesterday that Solid Energy had told its international customers it could have trouble filling orders.

"I find it extremely difficult to understand that so many people's livelihoods can be put at risk over moving a few snails.

"I could understand some people being concerned if the intention was to bulldoze the lot into a heap, but my understanding is that Solid Energy intends to relocate them using highly trained personnel."


The snail

* Powelliphanta snails are carnivores. Their favourite prey is earthworms, but they are also known to eat slugs.
* Powelliphanta are nocturnal. Mostly they live buried in leaf mould or under logs, only coming out at night to forage and to mate.
* It is estimated that Powelliphanta snails can live up to 20 years.
Source: Department of Conservation

- NZPA