Terrace mine

Terrace mine is an opencast sub-bituminous coal mine south of Reefton on the West Coast of the South Island. The mine is owned by Crusader Coal.

Background
The mine was owned and operated by Solid Energy until the uneconomic mine was closed in June 2009 and subsequently sold to Crusader Coal in December 2011.

At the time of the sale, Crusader Coal was described as "a private company owned by a small group of people with experience in coal mining in New Zealand and Australia". A director of the company, Bernie Lambley, stated that "we only wish to say that Crusader Coal is owned by a small team of successful underground coal mining professionals who are looking forward to reopening the mine and participating in the local community."

Crusader Coal flagged plans to reopen the mine in mid-2012. The company stated that it has developed an initial 10 year plan for the mine and is proposing to produce approximately 60-70,000 tonnes of coal a year.

The mine was expected to become operational again by January 2013. Company director, Mr Bernard Lambley, said that the first 12 months would be spent mainly on developing new areas underground for coal extraction but that it was hoped to produce 30,000–40,000 tonnes of coal during that phase. In June 2013 it was announced that the mine would be in production by Aug 2013.

Early history
In a 2005 brochure on the mine Solid Energy stated that "the mine began as a private mine in the early 1900s when it produced 5,000 tonnes of coal per annum. Terrace was purchased by Solid Energy in 1988. It now produces between 65,000 and 100,000 tonnes of coal per annum, an increase from the 25,000 tonnes, produced in 2000." The company stated that the mine "has potential access to approximately 700,000 tonnes of coal and Solid Energy has an exploration programme underway to identify further reserves."

Announcing the conditional sale of the mine in December 2010, Solid Energy stated that "Solid Energy's predecessor, State Coal, began operations in Reefton in 1946 when it bought Reefton Coal Company. Terrace Mine was first set up in the early 1900s and remained in private ownership until 1988 when Solid Energy (then Coalcorp) bought a controlling stake. Terrace's production peaked in 2002/03 at a little over 73,000 tonnes but from 1999 until operations ceased its average production was 45,000 tonne a year."

Project Details
Location: Three km southwest of Reefton on the West Coast Coordinates:  -42.112988,171.869333 Coal field: Inangahua Current owner: Crusader Coal Status: Expected to be in production by Aug 2013. Production capacity: 50–70,000 tonnes/year. When the mine was owned by Solid Energy, production peaked at about 73,000 tonnes in 2002/2003. Estimated recoverable reserves: 2 Mt Mining technique: Underground using hydraulic mining techniques Type of coal: Sub-bituminous Market information: Terrace coal is supplied to domestic and industrial markets in the South island and is marketed by state-owned company Solid Energy. Employees: Crusader proposes that five staff would be employed during redevelopment and 12 when operating

Related SourceWatch Resources

 * New Zealand and coal
 * New Zealand Mining Industry Association
 * Solid Energy