Giles Creek mine

The Giles Creek mine is an opencast sub-bituminous coal mine in the Giles Creek Valley near Reefton on the West Coast of the South Island. The mine is owned by Birchfield Coal.

Background
Location: Giles Creek Valley near Reefton on the West Coast of the South Island. Some or all of the 235 ha mine is on Department of Conservation land. Coordinates: -42.036799,171.799021 Coal field: Inangahua Background: Started production in 1984 Current owner: Birchfield Coal Status: Operating Production capacity: 500,000 tonnes/year Estimated recoverable reserves: 16 million tonnes Mining technique: Opencast. Shallow deposit exposed by removal of top soil. Coal removed by hydraulic diggers, screened and washed. Type of coal: Sub-bituminous, clean burning, low in sulfur Solid fuel calorific value (gross) 19.04 MJ/kg (Range for NZ coal 15.25–31.95 MJ/kg) Market information: Supplies the industrial, service and primary production sectors in Canterbury, Nelson and the West Coast. May be used as a blend with faster burning, higher heat value coals. Environmental and/or health & safety issues: The company states that, “After the coal has been extracted the area is levelled and planted in native living forest.”

Related SourceWatch Resources

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