1. Update on what’s happened in the last two weeks
Basil Morrison and Sel Baker are in Christchurch at the National landscaping awards because the Waihi streetscape was nominated for an award.

2. Newmont's Public announcement
We watched a video of Newmont CEO Pierre Lassonde interviewed on New Zealand breakfast television re the future of Newmont’s operations in New Zealand. This was important information for the WCCC because of the potential impact of future mining operations on the Committee’s plans.

3. Presentation
Following the video there was a presentation by Adriaan van Kersen, standing in for Dave Ingle who was away overseas. The presentation further explained Newmont’s intention re exploration and future mining. The main points were:

Newmont believes that the Waihi area is one of the most prospective epithermal gold regions in the world. Therefore;

• The Martha Mine is not for sale.
• Newmont is here (in Waihi) for the long term.
• The Company will actively engage in further exploration in the area.
• Pierre Lassonde stated during his visit to Waihi that there would be further development if this exploration was successful.
• Exploration does not mean mining - statistically only one in a thousand drill holes results in a mine being developed.
• A renewed exploration programme will not affect the Company’s commitment to the rehabilitation of Martha Mine or the Golden Legacy Project, but may affect the timing and scope.

Further detail is not available; however NWO undertakes to provide information through the established channels, e.g. Update, WCCC, as it comes to hand.

4. Discussion
Following the presentation, the committee had an opportunity for a question/discussion session. (Q = question and A = answer).

Q. Is the exploration being carried out within the zones?
A. Exploration is being carried out on our exploration licensed areas. i.e. Waihi East, Waihi West, Favona and Waitekauri.

Q. Will there be drilling on private property?
A. Not at this stage.

Q. What is the timing and scope?
A. If there is a discovery where there is a GL project proposed, then mining would be explored before the area is developed.

Q. What will happen to Union Hill if gold is found?
A. Any mining would be underground, projects could carry on above.

Q. Pierre mentioned there would be no exploration in State forest areas?
A. Newmont mining has together with 5 (Adriaan later clarified that there are in fact 14) international mining companies committed to not explore or mine in natural reserves. (This has since been clarified, and the 14 companies have committed to not explore or mine World Heritage sites.) This is a company policy that is applied by Newmont world wide.

Q. Will Union Hill be an open pit mine?
A. It would be highly unlikely.

Q. Is NWO still intending to rehabilitate the pit?
A. We intend to continue with pit rehabilitation especially the pit rim walkway as soon as possible.

Q. What does this mean for WCCC and Golden Legacy?
Q. Does this mean a re-assessment of the Golden Legacy?
A. We need to develop the concepts and carry on as normal. The intention is to explore but nothing has been found as yet. If we find something and we proceed to mine, there may be some conflict that would mean some postponement of Golden Legacy projects.

Q. How long will the exploratory phase last before NWO call a halt if no results are being obtained?
A. This question is hard to answer. We obviously would like to have positive exploration results as soon as possible (i.e. this year). I would like to think that it would be 2-3 years before we called a halt, but it is hard to say. It is a balancing act with a number of factors (including the price of gold) to be considered.

Q. How long has NWO had the licenses and who did they get them from?
ß A. Doreen provided the following information in response to this question.
Regarding Newmont’s Tenement status, Newmont purchased Waitekauri, Waitekauri East and Waihi East from Coeur. Waitekauri and Waihi East Permits are in the process of being extended to allow exploration to continue. The other Exploration Permits have been held by the company for a number of years and are all current.

Q. How many drills are operating now?
A. 4 have been operating and the 5th is to start on Wednesday.

Q. How likely is the rewatering of the pit going to be given the proximity of drilling to the pit and; will the rewatering affect underground mining?
A. We would want to avoid that scenario.

ß Q. Is it likely the lake will be put on hold?
ß A. If we find something to make it worthwhile. Waihi has one of the better Epithermal gold systems in the world.

Q. We are looking for transparency are we getting it?
ß A. You have as much information as we have. I have given all the answers we have available. We are in the early stages of an exploration phase and haven’t got all the answers yet.

Q. Will filling the lake affect Favona?
A. No.

Q. Does NWO have a license to explore close to the pit?
A. Yes, the Waihi East and Waihi West Tenements are adjacent to the pit.

Q. Does the license/consent require the lake to be filled?
A. Yes, the license expires in 2017, the pit is to be filled within that period.
Dennis Crequer - there is no compulsion to fill the lake. The compulsion is to manage the acid drainage from the walls. There are other options such as sealing.

Q. Are there any indications so far?
A. As I said before it is too early to answer this question.
A. Even if gold is found, NWO must go through the resource consent process to get consent to mine.

Q. Is there much disturbance anticipated to the surface of Union Hill?
A. Similar levels to those currently. We intend to return drilling sites back to the way in which they were found.

Q. Will there be an opportunity for the WCCC to debate the level of disturbance for Union Hill?
A. We will try and avoid the impact. We don’t want to disturb any historical sites. It is not for us to tell you what you should discuss.

Q. Will there be much vegetation disturbance?
A. We are trying to keep it in place.

Q. Do you know how many drills there will be on Union Hill?
ß A. We don’t know. There are currently 2 or 3 drills on Union Hill.

Q. Do you know how many holes have been drilled on Union Hill to date?
A. I don’t know. I think 7 but will confirm. (Adriaan later confirmed that 15 holes have been drilled by NWO so far.)

Q. What is the trio lode?
ß A. The Trio veining system is veins underneath Union Hill behind Tessa’s place where previous underground mining has taken place.

Q. This puts a question over the GL. The right to drill closer to the pit puts a question mark over plans for the Pumphouse and the Slevin St area.
A. We are just at the exploratory stage. The WCCC should carry on and develop its ideas. It is NWO’s commitment to continue the GL process. We don’t want to touch the Pumphouse.

Q. Is the Pumphouse moving towards the pit?
A. No, the pit area is being considered as stable at the moment.

Q. Is it being monitored? In relation to what?
A. Yes, monitoring sites are tied back into the National grid.

Q. Are you intending to drill in the area where the houses were removed?
A. Not as far as I am aware.

5. Effect on the work of the WCCC.
We then held a more general discussion about how this exploration programme affects the WCCC.

• NWO has undertaken to provide updates on where the exploration programme is at.
• It was agreed that future uncertainty was not a reason for doing nothing.
• The WCCC needs to be clear that its current role is in dealing with Golden Legacy proposals and acting as a conduit between NWO and the community. (If the WCCC were to take on a wider role of consultation, a conscious decision to change the role of the WCCC would need to be made).
• This announcement clarifies that NWO is not being sold. This gives the WCCC more time. The possibility of “a pot of gold” (more assistance) from NWO is potentially more likely; WCCC needs to ask NWO.
  

At the conclusion of the discussion the committee was asked for its view on the ongoing role of the WCCC. The consensus after the discussion was that the WCCC need to move on and take advantage of the opportunities offered by Golden Legacy.

6. Risk and availability of proposed sites
Rex had the following questions around what passive recreation means, and the associated risk of using various areas.

• What is a passive recreation area?
• Will the pit wall be safe? What is possible at the rim walkway?
• Will the pit need to be fenced off?
• Will we be able to use the lake to the extent we think we can?
• Can the Brickfield area be filled? (now)
• Do we need certainty about suitability of land down to Kenny St for passive recreation/accessibility?
• Is there a constructive use for the existing buildings, it is a waste to have them not utilised.
  

A comment was made about the viability of “filling in the hole” as it was said to be phenomenally expensive to fill underground, the outcome would be uncertain and there were other ways in which the money could be better spent.

The committee talked about the HDC’s current commissioning of a risk assessment. There is a need to go through a careful and robust process. The outcome is likely to be conservative when determining an acceptable level of risk. It requires time to see what happens.

There was discussion around the risk assessment and what degree of risk was deemed to be acceptable.

It was agreed by the WCCC that it would wait for the outcome of the Risk assessment commissioned by the HDC and that Rex’s questions will be forwarded to the HDC for consideration by the expert commissioned to evaluate the risk.


7. Proposal Presentations by sub-committees
We then had he opportunity to hear from three more of the subcommittees.

a) The Youth Team ideas were presented by Kit who almost did as good a job as the team would have. Unfortunately due to assessment pressures Helen, Holly, Selena, Megan, Josh, Jarryd, Sophie, Josh and Brendan were not available. Notes of the Youth Team presentation were handed out at the meeting. If you require copies of those notes please contact Tim and Sharon.
Discussion
At the conclusion of the presentation the following points were discussed:

• Looking at the signs (that refer to Waihi) at Rainbow’s End.
• Ask the “Youth” team what jobs they would like in the future – i.e. what type of employment opportunities should the WCCC consider trying to foster?
• Can someone answer the question of where it would be possible to flatten out the bunds around the pit to improve visibility when the lake is formed?
• Can Kit please remind the Youth Team about their wonderful ideas around themed toilet blocks?
• Signage is being worked on (direction signs).
• Talking about “Interpretive Signs” as well as direction signs.
• What about a mural type map on the side of the Information Centre showing people where things of interest can be found?
• Can we please invite the Youth Team to meetings again?

b) Tangata Whenua presented by John McIver.
John McIver presented some initial thoughts arrived at after consultation with Ngati Tamatera. The three proposals from Tangata Whenua are:

• Poupou
• Oral History; and
• Grieving ceremony / an acknowledgement of the loss.

Copies of the three Tangata Whenua proposals were handed out at the meeting. If you require copies of those notes please contact Tim and Sharon.
Discussion:
In further discussion of the proposals John explained that it is challenging for Tangata Whenua to look at constructive proposals when there are other issues / outstanding grievances to be addressed.

For Tangata Whenua, it is important to “mark” history.

In the story of the journey from Katikati to Waihi, Pukewa was a marker. The proposed Poupou could be a symbol of that landmark that is an important part of the history of Pukewa.

The Poupou could be tied in with interpretive panels and oral history.

The timing of any grieving ceremony – would be important.
Q. Is the start of filling the lake an appropriate time, or would it be better to have the ceremony at the time that Pukewa is full and overflowing.
A. It would be better to have a grieving ceremony at the start and celebrate at the time that she overflows.

Q. Is it better for the lake to fill naturally or by pumps.
A. In some ways it would be better to allow it to fill naturally but that would take time – that would need to be talked through.

It is very important to Tangata Whenua that the place of Pukewa, and her spiritual and historical significance to this area, is recognised. It would be a good beginning to be calling her “Pukewa”.

c) A New Idea – “The Bells” presented by Anneke Sanders.
Anneke Sanders gave us a wonderful presentation proposing that Bells might be a way to acknowledge the loss of Pukewa, heal the land and the people and provide a beautiful tourist attraction to complement the work of the WCCC. Click here for the text of Anneke’s presentation to gain an understanding of this concept and its potential benefits for Waihi. Unfortunately we were not clever enough to attach the wonderful sound of the bells.

d) Social Development presented by Tessa Mackenzie
Tessa presented a very comprehensive set of submissions regarding the proposal developed by the Social Development subcommittee. These proposals had been developed in a community meeting attended by 23 people representing the social service sector.

The 4 proposals from the Social Development subgroup are:

• Community Development Coordinator.
• Aroha Learning Centre.
• Community House.
• Regional Youth Worker.

Copies of the Social Development consultation paper and the four proposals were handed out at the meeting. If you require copies of those notes please contact Tim and Sharon.

Discussion
Tessa was complimented on the proposals and their value to Waihi. It was suggested that these proposals should happen in Waihi with or without Golden Legacy. It was agreed that they should but, to succeed, they will need the support and buy in of the WCCC (especially in the areas that link with other GL initiatives).

It was suggested that the name of Community Development Coordinator should more appropriately be “Social Development Coordinator”. This was agreed.

8. Other Matters Deferred
Because we had gone over time, the following were agreed to be deferred until our next meeting.

• Tourism presentation.
• Sport and recreation where to next?
• Social Impact – how do we incorporate into WCCC?
• A new shape?? - The next stage of WCCC.
• Where to from here.
• Recommendations.
• Checking with the community

Next meeting @ 7pm on Monday 26th April 2004.

Meeting closed at 9:40 pm

Tim and Sharon