Cascade Coal Mine
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Cascade Coal Mine is a mothballed coal mine in Denniston, West Coast, New Zealand.
Location
Table 1: Project-level location details
| Mine Name | Location | Coordinates (WGS 84) |
|---|---|---|
| Cascade Coal Mine | Denniston, West Coast, New Zealand | -41.769952, 171.801689 (approximate) |
The map below shows the approximate location of the coal mine:
Project Details
Table 2: Project status
| Status | Status Detail | Opening Year | Closing Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mothballed | Care and Maintenance | – | – |
Table 3: Operation details
| Capacity (Mtpa) | Production (Mtpa) | Year of Production | Mine Type | Mining Method | Mine Size (km2) | Mine Depth (m) | Workforce Size |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| – | 0.001 | – | Surface | Open Pit | 0.76 | 60* | * |
Table 4: Coal resources and destination
| Total Reserves (Mt) | Year of Total Reserves Recorded | Total Resources (Mt) | Coalfield | Coal Type | Coal Grade | Primary Consumer/ Destination |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0 | – | 1.4 | – | Bituminous | Met | Cement Industry |
Table 5: Ownership and parent company
| Owner | Parent Company | Headquarters |
|---|---|---|
| Bathurst Resources | Bathurst Resources Ltd [100%] | New Zealand |
Note: The above section was automatically generated and is based on data from the Global Coal Mine Tracker April 2024 release and the September supplement.
Background
The Cascade mine was an opencast bituminous coal mine near Denniston on the West Coast of the South Island. The mine was owned by Bathurst Resources.
Cascade has been in production for nearly 100 years.[1] The Cascade opencast mine was acquired from Eastern Resources Group by Bathurst in 2010. Cascade is the only mine in Bathurst’s Buller Project that is currently operational. The company has been granted an “Extension of Land” to include an area of additional resource that had been identified adjacent to the Cascade mine.[2]
Environmental Issues
The Cascade mine is situated on the Denniston Plateau, an area with numerous nationally endangered and vulnerable animals and other rare flora and fauna. Mining in the Denniston Plateau has been the subject of court challenges between Bathurst Resources and the New Zealand Forest and Bird Protection Society and the West Coast Environmental Network Inc. [3]
Mine Closure
In 2015, the closure of Holcim's cement plant rendered Cascade's remaining accessible coal economically unrecoverable and the mine was placed on care and maintenance in November 2015.[4] During this time, the 1,002 tonnes produced per annum was obtained via stockpiles or former stockpiles at the site as part of rehabilitation.[5]
Cascade remained mothballed for five years with the intent of bringing it back into operation when market conditions recovered. However, in their 2020 annual report, Bathurst Resources reported that they had "initiated a significant rehabilitation project at the mine site."[6] This rehabilitation work was later completed in FY2022 and the mine site is now fully rehabilitated.[7][8]
Articles and Resources
Additional data
To access additional data, including an interactive map of world coal mines, a downloadable dataset, and summary data, please visit the Global Coal Mine Tracker on the Global Energy Monitor website.
References
- ↑ Enzed Transport, "Coal mining past present and future links with rail development & heritage (West Coast / Canterbury, South Island)", accessed December 2012
- ↑ Bathurst Resources "Financial Statements for year ended 30 June 2012", accessed December 2012
- ↑ Otago Daily Times, "Coal pitched against environment", Accessed February 2011.
- ↑ Bathurst Resources Limited Annual Report 2016, Bathurst Resources website, Archived from the original on 22 January 2018, accessed January 2025
- ↑ New Zealand Petroleum and Minerals, "Operating coal mines", Ministry of Economic Development, accessed February 2021.
- ↑ Bathurst Resources, Bathurst Resources Limited 2020 Annual Report, accessed January 2025
- ↑ Bathurst Resources, Bathurst Resources Limited 2021 Annual Report, accessed January 2025
- ↑ Bathurst Resources, "Our Operations: Cascade", accessed February 2021
