Protect Karangahake had its beginnings around kitchen tables and in packed lounges, as our community gathered together to discuss our response to New Talisman Gold (NTG) gaining permission to extract gold ore from Karangahake Mountain.
Gaining numbers and momentum, and with support from Coromandel Watchdog, we are united in our opposition to mining in the Gorge, but for a myriad of different reasons. We are concerned about:
• negative impacts on water quality
• damage to the amenity value of the Gorge, including the walking tracks and rail trail
• the processing of New Talisman Gold’s Resource Consent, and the license it gives
• the possible damage to homes and properties from daily blasting, including devaluation of real estate
• increased safety risks from mining trucks sharing narrow residential roads
• the spiritual impact on a sacred mountain – already suffering from 110 years of thoughtless mining
• opposition to mining activity on conservation land
to name a just a few.
Spurred on by the enthusiasm of our community we sought the next step of becoming an incorporated society. We’ve set up various hubs that concentrate our activism, so if you can lend a hand, put your shoulder to the proverbial grindstone to end the mining in Karangahake, we’d love to hear from you – your skills are needed.
We believe in the power of community, and the strength of standing and working together. We also believe the Gorge isn’t just our backyard, it’s also one of the New Zealand’s most popular recreational spaces and that fact should have been given more consideration when permission to begin minerals extraction was granted.
Ultimately, our objective is to get the Mountain on Schedule Four, to protect it from any future mining.
Protect Karangahake 