Earth Sciences NZ – formerly GNS Science before its merger with NIWA in July – has recently launched its new Critical Minerals website. Q&M spoke with Matthew Hill, Geologist at ESNZ about what the site offers.
This Critical Minerals website resource is structured with a basic introductory page followed by sections on Our Critical Minerals, Mineral Systems, Our Research, etc.
Other sections have detail on particular minerals (e.g. aggregate and sand, copper, gold) or particular mineral systems (e.g. epithermal gold or VMS).
It features interactive web maps to support the individual pages within the site. These include Aggregate – a map of aggregate opportunity-modelling results – and the AQA Quarry Database. Critical Minerals – a map of where some of the critical minerals occur from locations in the NZ Geological Resources Map (GERM). Orogenic gold – geological map data related to the parts of the mineral system for orogenic gold (e.g. geological map units, anomalous geochemistry, etc.). And Epithermal gold – geological map data related to the parts of the mineral system for epithermal gold (e.g. volcanic source rocks, geophysical data, geochemistry etc.).
Data from these web maps can even be streamed directly into your own GIS software for use in exploration targeting or map making.
“We will be continuing to update the site regularly in the future. Small updates to improve existing material, and larger updates with new material e.g. mineral information, and web maps,” says Matthew Hill, Geologist at ESNZ.
These new pages include (now released) Critical Minerals for Kiwi Kids to provide information for a much younger audience. Also new pages on the Ni-Cu-Cr-PGE intrusive mineral system as well as the REE mineral system with supporting web maps of data.
“Our graphics team had a lot of fun creating new graphics for this website but, basically, the idea was to create a location where we could capture all our minerals research under this new critical minerals term,” says Matt, and adding that it is based on minerals research going back decades, with an interest over the past ten years for more ‘green-technology’ minerals such as rare-earth elements and lithium.
“All our minerals are widely scattered and located in various land ownerships; a lot occur within the conservation estate – a region of land that covers a large area of our country.
“But there’s also plenty on private land and farmland and other land types,” says Matt.
“You can explore all of this within our interactive web maps. You can put on all the critical mineral points, add on the conservation land areas or current permit outlines underneath as well.”
In addition to secondary-level pages on critical minerals such as gold, copper, aggregate and sand, there are links to mineral systems and how those minerals form in the geology.
“The likes of gold forms in a few different mineral systems. One, for example, is the epithermal system, where you’ve got more recent volcanic systems concentrating minerals into deposits,” says Matt.
“Or there’s the orogenic mineral system, where regional tectonics is related to moving metals into a deposit. And within a mineral system, like the orogenic ones in an Otago, you’ve obviously got gold, but you’ve also got other minerals such as tungsten and antimony – a part of those deposits. So, the mineral system is a framework that explains the process of where mineral deposits form and helps us with our exploration for new deposits.”
Also featured is a page on copper resources. While we don’t currently mine copper there is a lot of this mineral in our country. “At the moment I don’t think the price of copper warrants its production, but we certainly have a lot of copper around New Zealand, so we’ve made a little map showing where the copper occurrences are, and also where there’s really high geochemical anomalies for it too.”
Matt concedes that our own geologists will already be familiar with the information on the site. “We’ve targeted the site more for your average New Zealander wanting to learn more about critical minerals or overseas explorers thinking, maybe New Zealand’s a place we want to explore. Where can we get this information?
“I think the big thing for them is going to be the web maps of information which are useful for anyone promoting their industry to overseas partners or investment groups. Instead of giving people a USB stick or download link for information, they can just go straight to the website. The maps are always up to date, and they’re always live, so you’ve always got the latest data.”
The importance of aggregate
“Probably the most critical of all minerals that we produce here is aggregate,” Matt stresses.
“If we turn that off nothing gets built or constructed. We need to be very strategic about which critical minerals we choose to mine here and those we choose to import from overseas. “We require large volumes of fertilizer for our farms which costs a lot to transport, and mining of other critical minerals locally supports our economy as well as many jobs and communities.”
The aggregate web map shows blue areas which are locations with good opportunity for sandstone, and sites to find a new resource to support a motorway development. The map of operating and historic quarries also complements this exploration and planning, says Matt. “The AQA have got thousands of quarries mapped in their records now.”
Matt says if, as a country, we can better understand where our aggregate resources are, we can develop long-term plans. If we know where our aggregate resources could be now, we can streamline projects for the next 20, 50 – even out to 100 years. That’s what a lot of the big operators are already doing. They’re out there exploring for the future, and we hope this resource is helping.”
Matt added that working with some of the local and regional councils on the aggregate modelling work was especially rewarding. “Their local knowledge combined with our geological and modelling skills has helped create some great products. They can now incorporate the results into their long-term plans and they have felt part of the project.”
Matt will be speaking with local government and planners at the New Zealand Planning Institute conference early next year and sees this as an opportunity to engage.
“I will get this message out about long-term planning for aggregate because the best studies I’ve done have been with aggregate modelling.”
Matt concludes that the new website will be updated regularly every month with new information and interesting links to articles and new research.
“We will continue to keep it really simple in the way it is written because we want all New Zealanders to understand about our resources and be part of making good decisions about land use. The information on the website represents the work of many people – and decades of research.
www.gns.cri.nz/critical-minerals
Kiwi rare earth project
Taiko Critical Minerals (formerly TiGa Minerals and Metals) says it has achieved a major milestone in becoming our first producer of critical minerals and rare earth elements, after securing resource consent for its planned Mineral Separation Plant (MSP) at Rapahoe, near Greymouth.
The Grey District Council granted consent for construction of the MSP on Coates South Block which is privately-owned land leased from Birchfield Coal Mines (on a 30-year lease). The site is adjacent to SH6 on the Barrytown Flats, West Coast. It has direct trucking access from the Barrytown mine site and a KiwiRail feeder line to the Midland Line, providing direct rail links to export ports at Lyttelton and Timaru.
The Listed project status was confirmed under the Government’s Fast-track Approvals Bill for the Southern Resource Block adjourning the Coates South Block that unlocks a 412-hectare extension of the mineral resource area, securing a 20-plus-year mine life.
The company says extensive drilling and test work confirmed a viable and substantial critical minerals and rare earths resource supporting a 20-plus- year mine life.
Aussie lessons
Critical rare minerals now underpin the technologies of our industrial age. The Earth Sciences NZ Critical Minerals website is a step in the right direction for future prospecting, which is being promoted by the Coalition Government.
Meanwhile, our pro-mining-neighbours are not holding back. Geoscience Australia has mapped extensive deposits of critical minerals across its continent on the belief that accessing them could position Australia as a key supplier to global
clean-energy industries.
In Australia, 31 minerals and rare earths defined as ‘critical’ include lithium, magnesium and zirconium. Rare earths are heavy metals used in electrical and magnetic components. These elements aren’t truly rare in the Earth’s crust but occur in low concentrations, making them difficult and expensive to extract. Australia’s current Critical Minerals Strategy plans to move from just mining and extracting these minerals to refining, processing and manufacturing them.
This is backed by initiatives such as the A$4 billion Critical Minerals Facility to support projects aligned with the strategy and a new 10 per cent production tax credit for onshore refining.
Reportedly, mining companies such as Arafura Rare Earths and Alpha HPA are developing chemical processing plants for magnet materials and high-purity alumina. While the CSIRO-led [Critical Minerals Research and Development Hub] is pioneering new refining technologies for the domestic production of high-value materials.
On the negative side, the extraction of these rare minerals involves a large environmental footprint. Producing a tonne of lithium requires 77 tonnes of fresh water. However, the urgency around rare earth mining has intensified with trade tension between the US and China after China imposed tighter export controls on rare earth materials and magnet technology, presenting an opportunity for other
regions.