WELLINGTON, New Zealand,
Dec. 6, 2017 /CNW/ - Chatham Rock
Phosphate Limited (TSXV: "NZP" and NZAX: "CRP" or the "Company") is
pleased to announce that it recently provided briefing notes to a
number of incoming Ministers following the recent change of
Government in New Zealand.
Individual briefing notes were sent to the ten most relevant
Ministers, including the Prime Minister and Deputy Prime Minister,
as well as the Ministers of Energy and Resources, Environment and
Economic Development, Agriculture, Fisheries, Forestry, Export
Development, Conservation and Regional Development. It is pleasing
that a number of responses have been received already.
The notes provided a succinct summary of our project and
particularly its net environmental benefits and an example is
included in this release to further reiterate these messages to
existing shareholders and stakeholders.
"Briefing to the Incoming Minister
Minister of Agriculture, Minister for Food Safety, Minister
for Biosecurity, Minister for Rural Communities
Summary
The Chatham rock phosphate
project comprehensively ticks the boxes in terms of net
environmental benefits, security of supply of an essential farm
input, project economics and benefits to the NZ economy.
Introduction
Chatham Rock Phosphate Limited (CRP) is a Wellington based company that proposes to
dredge rock phosphate from a small part of the central Chatham
Rise, about 450km offshore Christchurch.
Although it has cornerstone investors overseas and is stock
exchange listed in both Canada and
Frankfurt (as well as New Zealand) more than 50% of CRP is owned by
over 1,300 New Zealanders.
Benefits for the Environment
Rock phosphate from the Chatham Rise has exceptional
environmentally beneficial attributes relating to its properties as
a reactive rock phosphate and its unusually low cadmium levels.
The directly beneficial environmental effects of using
Chatham rock phosphate are reduced
run off, improved water quality, a healthier soil profile, reduced
heavy metals being applied to soils and much lower carbon
emissions.
Ethical, Secure Supply
By recovering rock phosphate from the Chatham Rise NZ will have
its own supply without depending on imports from other countries,
particularly Morocco, which is
mining rock from a disputed territory. Onshore phosphate mining
also impacts on local communities causing well documented health
issues and social and environmental distress.
Project Will Pay Taxes, Create
Jobs and Knowledge
The project would result in significant tax revenue and port
charges as well as create many high-value knowledge-based jobs in
the port, on the mining ship, undertaking environmental monitoring
and broader scientific research, in the agriculture and hospitality
sectors and on the Chatham Islands.
It could lead to NZ leadership in marine technology potentially
worth billions as marine mining becomes commonplace overseas.
By operating in the marine environment we will gain (and share)
the knowledge to better identify conservation priorities.
Project History
The deposit, located on the central Chatham Rise, was discovered
by New Zealand scientists in 1952
and extensively explored during the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s by a
range of private and public sector scientists (DSIR, NZ
Oceanographic Survey)
An estimated $70 million in
current dollar terms was spent back then on at least seven
different voyages, each involving several weeks. The data collected
means the deposit is now very well defined.
CRP was granted a 20 year mining permit in December 2013.
The mining permit area is 450 km east of Christchurch, at a depth of around 400 metres
on the Chatham Rise and in New
Zealand territory. Estimated reserves are 23.4 million
tonnes.
The current Exclusive Economic Zone environmental consenting
regime came into force in June 2013
and CRP's initial application was among the first considered by the
Environmental Protection Authority. It was declined in 2015
and CRP is currently planning to resubmit in early 2019.
We are planning for an operational start two years after receipt
of a Marine Consent and completing a mining contract (to include
arrangements for a vessel to undertake the mining).
CRP's mining permit assumes an initial mine life of 15
years. We anticipate further sampling during this
initial mining phase will quantify the extent of additional
mineable reserves within the mining permit area.
How the Phosphate Will Be Recovered
A modified version of the trailing suction hopper dredger
pictured above will separate a 30cm thick seafloor layer of
phosphate nodules, together with the surrounding sand, sieve the
nodules from the sand on board the vessel, return the sand to the
seafloor and take the nodules to the operation's home port. From
there an estimated 29% of the nodules will be processed and used in
New Zealand and the balance
exported to neighbouring countries.
First Environmental Protection Authority Decision
Recap
Main public concerns submitted
- Removal of seabed and associated biota
- Impacts of the sediment plume on the adjacent environment and
deepwater fisheries
- Interactions with marine mammals and seabirds
- Trophic impacts
- Mining inside a Benthic Protection Area (fishing
bottom-trawling prohibited)
But in the hearing independent/opposing experts agreed that:
- Marine mammals unlikely to be affected
- Sea birds unlikely to be affected
- Major fish stocks unlikely to be affected
- Primary food chain productivity unlikely to be affected
- Toxicology effects in water column will be very low
2015 Decision-making Committee's (DMC) summary
- Damage to the benthic environment
- Modest economic benefits compared to environmental effects
- Significant effect on Benthic Protection Area
- Proposed adaptive management wouldn't address fundamental
concerns
The Facts
- Damage to the benthic environment is not permanent and is
limited to one tenth of 1% of the Chatham Rise
- The economic benefits were required to be established before
the mining permit was granted by NZ Petroleum and Minerals in 2013.
As well as being highly profitable the project creates jobs in
ports, agriculture, environmental monitoring, and scientific
research
- Environmental benefits include reduced carbon emissions, lower
run-off into waterways and significantly lower levels of cadmium.
These benefits were ignored by the DMC.
- Only 5% of the Central Chatham Rise Benthic Protection Area
would be affected
- The DMC failed to grasp how the proposed adaptive management
regime would operate.
Further Information
Much more detailed information can be supplied to back up this
summary document upon request.
All of this information is already in the public arena due to
CRP's continuous disclosure obligations as a reporting issuer in
New Zealand and other markets.
Chatham executives would also
welcome the opportunity to brief the Minister in person.
Chris Castle,
CEO
November 16,
2017"
Neither the Exchange, its Regulation Service Provider (as
that term is defined under the policies of the Exchange), or New
Zealand Exchange Limited has in any way passed upon the merits of
the Transaction and associated transactions, and has neither
approved nor disapproved of the contents of this press
release.
SOURCE Chatham Rock Phosphate