stuff.co.nz: Profit could be bursting at seams

Way out along Taranaki's eastern boundary and beyond, there's a massive energy resource known as the Taranaki coalfields.

People have known of its existence for generations, and some have mined it. In fact, it was way back in 1884 when the region's first commercial mine began operations up the Mokau River and, further to the south, there was mining in the Ohura- Tangarakau areas from about 1927.

But it was all relatively small- scale and although about 3.7 million tonnes of coal were extracted until the last mine closed in 1990, it hardly scratched the surface of what is actually underground.

Latest estimates indicate the Taranaki coalfields contain at least 380 million tonnes, of which 173 million tonnes is considered recoverable.

But whether or not the Taranaki coal will ever be mined is questionable.

The seams are located in a very remote North Island location, where there is little infrastructure available to transport it out, which means that, compared to other coalfields, such as Waikato, there will always be a major cost involved in any new mining operation.

Organisations are studying the feasibility of mining the coal, but it does seem unlikely there will be large-scale underground or open- cast mining operations out there any time in the foreseeable future.

But there is another way Taranaki's coal can be mined - not for the coal itself, but for the natural gas it contains.

A few days ago, New Zealand's biggest coal company confirmed the Taranaki coalfields as the country's hot spot for what is known as coal seam gas. MORE