Application and cover letter
The application comprises a cover letter, application form and application document describing the project and assessment of effects.
Taranaki VTM cover letter to the EPA (PDF, 271KB)
Taranaki VTM application form (PDF, 1.4MB)
Taranaki VTM application (PDF, 8.9MB)
Attachment 1 - Proposed marine consent conditions (PDF, 895KB)
Attachment 2 - NZIER economic impact assessment (PDF, 609KB)
Attachment 3a: Siecap - pre-feasibility study part 1 (PDF, 39MB)
Attachment 3b: Siecap - pre-feasibility study part 2 (PDF, 21MB)
Attachment 4: Siecap - recovery of vanadium (PDF, 1.2MB)
The following appendices and reports provide supporting detail.
Appendix
Taranaki VTM application appendix sections:
Supplementary technical information
Supplementary technical index (PDF, 94KB)
NIWA South Taranaki Bight Factual Baseline Environmental Report – November 2015:
Report 3 - NIWA Benthic Flora and fauna of the Patea Shoals region report (PDF, 11.8MB)
Report 7 - NIWA Effects of ships lights on fish, squid and seabirds (PDF, 358KB)
Report - 8 NIWA Seabirds of the South Taranaki Bight (PDF, 465KB)
Report 9 - NIWA Zooplankton communities and water quality report (PDF, 3.6MB)
Report 10 - NIWA South Taranaki Bight fish and fisheries report (PDF, 4.4MB)
Report 11 - NIWA Geological desktop summary report (PDF, 2.9MB)
Report 12 - NIWA Oceanographic measurements data report (PDF, 3.5MB)
Report 13 - NIWA Nearshore optical water quality (PDF, 4.1MB)
Report 14 - NIWA Shoreline monitoring data report (PDF, 10.5MB)
Report 15 - NIWA Nearshore wave modelling (PDF, 9MB)
Report 16 - NIWA Effects on primary production (PDF, 1.1MB)
Report 17 - NIWA Assessment of the scale of marine ecological effects (PDF, 7.1MB)
Report 18 - NIWA South Taranaki Bight commercial fisheries (PDF, 2.6MB)
Report 19 - NIWA Zooplankton and the processes supporting them (PDF, 1.4MB)
Report 20 - aquatic Environmental Sciences ecological assessment report (PDF, 2.2MB)
Report 21- Tonkin & Taylor Air dispersion modelling studies on gas turbine discharges (PDF, 3.2MB)
Report 23 - Clough and Associates Archaeological assessment report (PDF, 919KB)
Report 24- Martin Cawthorn Associates Cetacean monitoring report (PDF, 1.2MB)
Report 25 - Fathom Consulting Assessment of potential Impacts on commercial fishing (PDF, 3.4MB)
Report 26 - R.N. Barlow and Associates Maritime and navigational impacts (PDF, 4.7MB)
Report 27 - Marico Marine traffic study (PDF, 3.1MB)
Report 28 - Hegley Acoustic Consultants Assessment of noise effects (PDF, 1.8MB)
Report 29 - Rob Greenaway & Associates Recreation and tourism assessment of effects (PDF, 2.4MB)
Report 30- Corydon Consultants Social impact assessment (PDF, 1.3MB)
Report 31 - Boffa Miskell Visual effects report (PDF, 13.3MB)
Report 31a - Boffa Miskell Graphic supplement part 1 (PDF, 39.9MB)
Report 31b - Boffa Miskell Graphic supplement part 2 (PDF, 39.5MB)
Report 31c - Boffa Miskell Graphic supplement part 3 (PDF, 35.9MB)
Report 32 - OCEL Consultants Implications of loose tailings seabed material PDF, 638KB)
Report 33 - MetOcean Solutions oil spill trajectory modelling (PDF, 2.8MB)
Report 39 - eCoast Potential effects of mining operations on surfing breaks (PDF, 13.6MB)
Report 40 - Tahu Potiki cultural values assessment and analysis (PDF, 340KB)
Report 41 - Auckland University of Technology trace metal assessment report (PDF, 3.2MB)
Other information
Report 34 - Te Taihauauru Iwi forum fisheries plan 2012 – 2017 (PDF, 852KB)
Report 42 - Briefing for the incoming Minister for Resources (PDF, 1.9MB)
Expert evidence presented in 2023 and 2024 hearings
Evidence on seabirds
Report 8c - Evidence of Dr David Thompson 19 May 2023 (PDF, 183KB)
Report 8a - Rebuttal evidence Dr David Thompson 23 January 2023 (PDF, 160KB)
Evidence on marine mammals
Report 4c - Evidence Dr Simon Childerhouse 19 May 2023 (PDF, 25.4MB)
Report 4b - Rebuttal evidence Dr Simon Childerhouse 23 February 2024 (PDF, 602KB)
On 22 September 2025, the applicant provided a missing document, namely a report by Humpheson dated 2017. This report was listed as an appendix in Report 4b.
Evidence presented on sedimentation and sediment plume modelling
Report 20c - Evidence Dr Alison MacDiarmid 19 May 2023 (PDF, 243KB)
Report 20e - Evidence Dr Helen Macdonald 19 May 2023 (PDF, 175KB)
Report 20b - Rebuttal evidence Dr Alison Mac Diarmid 23 January 2024 (PDF, 234KB)
Report 20d - Rebuttal evidence Dr Helen Macdonald 23 January 2024 (PDF, 188KB)
Report 20a - Rebuttal evidence Dr Michael Dearnaley 23 January 2024 (PDF, 221KB)
Footnote information
The information in the Footnote Index sets out where the information or documents referenced in the Taranaki VTM application footnotes can be found. The index contains hyperlinks to documents and references to Supplementary Technical Reports (refer to the documents above) or Footnote documents which can be found below.
- Footnote index (PDF, 325 KB)
- FN24 Michael Huber Environment, Marine Mammals, Fish and Benthic Ecology (PDF, 182 KB)
- FN25 Effects on Bathymetry and Oceanographic Processes (PDF, 90 KB)
- FN36 Satellite ocean colour remote sensing from 002-to-2012 (PDF, 6 MB)
- FN42 Distributions of reef fishes (PDF, 4 MB)
- FN46 Environmental correlates of nearshore habitat of Maui Dolphin (PDF, 1 MB)
- FN47 Spatial distribution modelling of New Zealand cetacean species (PDF, 16 MB)
- FN49 Updated Risk Assessment For NZ Marine Mammals (PDF, 11 MB)
- FN59 Temporal occurrence of three blue whale populations in NZ (PDF, 10 MB)
- FN60 Environmental conditions and heatwaves influence blue whale foraging (PDF, 8 MB)
- FN68a Conservation status of NZ (PDF, 2 MB)
- FN68b Brucellosis in Endangered Hector Dolphins (PDF, 1 MB)
- FN68c Hector and Maui Dolphins Ethology and Behavioral Ecology (PDF, 332 KB)
- FN68d Hector and Māui Dolphins Threat Management Plan (PDF, 755 KB)
- FN68e Aquatic Environment and Biodiversity Annual Review 2021 (PDF, 27 MB)
- FN68f The Influence of Selection on major histocompatibility complex (MHC) (PDF, 3 MB)
- FN68g Acoustic monitoring of Cephalorhynchus hectori (PDF, 1 MB)
- FN68h Characterisation of Hector and Māui dolphins (PDF, 518 KB)
- FN70 Spatial risk assessment of Maui and Hector dolphins (PDF, 8 MB)
- FN71 Population modelling of Maui dolphins (PDF, 7 MB)
- FN78 Hector and Maui Dolphin Threat Management Plan (PDF, 551 KB)
- FN79 Underwater sound propagation modelling (PDF, 7 MB)
- FN80 Maui dolphin abundance (PDF, 4 MB)
- FN86 Conservation status of NZ marine mammals (PDF, 602 KB)
- FN88 Conservation status of NZ birds (PDF, 778 KB)
- FN96 South taranaki bight fishing (PDF, 1 MB)
- FN101 Laboratory Testing of Sediments (PDF, 3 MB)
- FN105 Ocean forecasting (PDF, 882 KB)
- FN108 Optical effects of proposed iron sand mining (PDF, 5 MB)
- FN118 Modelling of green lipped mussel (PDF, 1 MB)
- FN119 Assessment of potential impacts of dredging operations (PDF, 1 MB)
- FN120 Suspension feeding bivalves (PDF, 508 KB)
- FN121 Effects of suspended sediment on bivalves (PDF, 516 KB)
- FN122 Effects of suspended sediment concentrations on marine macrofauna (PDF, 448 KB)
- FN123 Responses of NZ coastal sponge to elevated suspended sediments (PDF, 981 KB)
- FN125 Biological resources (PDF, 3 MB)
- FN126 Effects of suspended sediment levels on shellfish in the Whitford (PDF, 628 KB)
- FN127 Impacts of terrestrial runoff on rocky reef biodiversity (PDF, 13 MB)
- FN128 Effects of suspended sediments on feeding (PDF, 460 KB)
- FN129 Biological effects of suspended sediments (PDF, 205 KB)
- FN130 Ecological effects of sediment deposition in Okura estuary (PDF, 1 MB)
- FN131 Macrofaunal sensitivity to fine sediments (PDF, 557 KB)
- FN132 Environmental monitoring and management of reclamation works (PDF, 1 MB)
- FN135 Sedimentation on rocky intertidal reefs (PDF, 251 KB)
- FN137 Deep sea benthic megafauna (PDF, 5 MB)
- FN142 Mercury inventory NZ 2008 (PDF, 1 MB)
- FN143 Methylmercury in rainbow trout (PDF, 192 KB)
- FN144 Total mercury and methylmercury in sediments near offshore drilling sites (PDF, 566 KB)
- FN145 Total and methylmercury in sediment (PDF, 308 KB)
- FN149 Effects of total suspended solids on marine fish (PDF, 882 KB)
- FN152 MacDiarmid Supplementary Evidence 1May 2017 (PDF, 1 MB)
- FN160 Marine mammal noise exposure criteria (PDF, 4 MB)
- FN161 Marine mammal noise exposure criteria 2007 (PDF, 2 MB)
- FN182 Marine protection rules (PDF, 317 KB)
- FN187 TTR ecological monitoring (PDF, 481 KB)
- FN190 Marine mining with De Beers (PDF, 937 KB)
- FN194 Bleakley vs Environmental Risk Management Authority 2001 AP177-00 (PDF, 4 MB)
- FN198 TTR Supreme Court Decision 2021 NZSC-127 (PDF, 1008 KB)
- FN203 Helu vs Immigration and Protection Tribunal 2015 NZSC-28 (PDF, 596 KB)
- FN226 Minerals programme 2013 (PDF, 798 KB)
- FN255 Ngati Ruanui Deed of Settlement 12 May 2001 (PDF, 1 MB)
- FN256 Ngaa Rauru Kiitahi Deed of Settlement 27 Nov 2003 (PDF, 2 MB)
- FN257 Ngaruahine Deed of Settlement 1 Aug 2014 (PDF, 3 MB)
- Humpheson 2017 report (PDF, 4 MB)