Gerry Brownlee

NZPA political reporters

Wellington, March 22 NZPA - Rare minerals worth billions of dollars could be mined within five years under government proposals to open up more than 7000 hectares of protected conservation land.

The proposals are in a discussion document released today which puts New Zealand's mineral value at about $194 billion.

Of that, about $80b is estimated to be in protected conservation land and there is the potential for about $60 billion to be mined.

The Government is treading carefully with its proposals to remove land protected under schedule four of the Crown Minerals Act, and says it will carefully consider public feedback over the next six weeks.

But it is emphasising the economic importance of tapping vast mineral wealth in ways that have minimal impact on the conservation estate.

The proposals include removing from schedule four parts of the Coromandel Peninsula, Great Barrier Island, and parts of Paparoa National Park on the West Coast.

Any future mining will be considered on a case-by-case basis, and will have to go through Resource Management Act consent processes.

Energy Minister Gerry Brownlee said the land proposed for removal from schedule four could be represented as a postcard on Eden Park -- 0.024 percent of New Zealand's total land area.

"The Government is in a parlous position," Mr Brownlee said at a press conference.

"We can muddle along as we are, or we can set our sights higher.

"Developing a tiny portion of our mineral wealth would have a huge impact."

Minerals targeted in the proposals include gold, silver, nickel and platinum, as well as many rare earth metals vital for high tech industries.

Mr Brownlee said there was a huge demand for them that would last many years into the future.

He said mining could start within three to five years, after prospecting and the granting of resource consents.

In addition to the schedule four proposals, the Government wants to gather information over the next nine months on "highly prospective" non-schedule four areas in Northland, parts of the Coromandel and parts of Stewart Island.

The Government will make decisions around the middle of this year on the schedule four land, and says it will be listening to what the public has to say.

Mr Brownlee said if mining did develop on the schedule four land that was proposed for removal, only about 500ha of it would actually be involved.

"In fact, 500ha is smaller than the average sheep and beef farm...but it could have big economic benefits for New Zealand."

At present, mining is a $2b industry and its workers return an average of $360,000 of GDP per worker, nearly six times the national average.

A trade-off for taking out the schedule land would be adding 12,400ha to the protected category.

And there would be a dedicated conservation fund set up with part of future royalties from the minerals, set at a maximum $10 million a year.

Forest and Bird, which accurately forecast some of the proposals, said the discussion document was even worse than it had feared.

"You can't save precious areas by destroying them," said advocacy manager Kevin Hackwell.

"The proposals are proof that the Government fails to see the value of conservation land -- for tourism, for recreation and for the unique plants and animals it protects."

The Green Party said that if important national parks and ecological areas could be mined, anything could.

Party co-leader Metiria Turei said the Government was scared of public opinion, but it wouldn't let go of the idea of mining conservation land.