Solid Energy loss now Bathurst profit
Former state-owned Solid Energy coalmines have proved a winner by contributing 82 per cent of profit for Bathurst Resources, which bought them in 2017.
The mines boosted Bathurst profits to their highest since the company was set up a decade ago.
The legacy from 130 years of mining still remains at New Zealand’s largest mine, the former Solid Energy mine at Stockton on the West Coast where Bathurst and community groups are managing acid runoff into the Ngakawau River, estimated to be required for the next 100 years.
Development West Coast chief executive Chris Mackenzie said miners operated differently nowadays to cause the least possible damage. Coal and goldmining remained the region’s third biggest contributor to gross domestic product after dairying and construction.
‘‘West Coasters are mindful of the environment because their livelihoods depend on it,’’ he said.
But Forest & Bird lawyer Peter Anderson said the benefits of mining were overstated, and the organisation opposed the local and global environmental damage.
Bathurst chief executive Richard Tacon said, ‘‘The impact of the acquisition of the mine sites cannot be overstated,’’ as they had contributed most of Bathurst’s recent profit turnaround.
The collapse of state-owned miner Solid Energy, owing $400 million, cleared the way for Bathurst to buy Stockton plus Waikato mines Rotowaro and Maramarua in a joint venture called BT Mining, with Talley’s owning a 35 per cent share.
Bathurst’s coal production quadrupled, as did staff numbers to 400.
Bathurst’s final June 2018 profit after tax was $5.5m on turnover of $47m, a big turnaround from the previous loss of $15.6m.
Revenue continued to soar in the following six months to $144m, with an after-tax profit of $25m.
Bathurst also operates mines at Takitimu, Crown Mountain in Canada and Coalgate in Canterbury for supplying Fonterra’s dairy plants. About 64 per cent of Bathurst’s coal is exported to steel mills in India, Australia, the United States, and China.
Bathurst is listed on the Australian stockmarket and requires Overseas Investment Office consent for new purchases in New Zealand.
Last year Land Information Minister Eugenie Sage rejected its request to buy the old Sullivan mine on Denniston Plateau from Solid Energy. The Stockton expansion will be a topic at the New Zealand Minerals Forum in Dunedin next month.