A decision on seabed mining exploration off Waihi Beach is expected in about two months, says the Ministry of business innovation and employment.

Pacific Offshore Mining is seeking a five-year permit to explore for ilmenite – titanium ore, within 12,000 hectares off Waihi Beach.

The exploration area is the cross hatched zone off Waihi Beach. Picture: New Zealand Petroleum and Minerals.

As well as ilmenite, the permit is seeking rights to iron sands, gold and silver deposits in same area of the seabed at depths of 20-50m. Ilmenite and ironsand deposits were previously explored in the area in the 1970s and 1990s.

Granting an exploration licence gives Pacific Offshore Mining the right to identify mineral deposits and evaluate the feasibility of mining any deposits that may be found.

Typical exploration activities for offshore ironsand/ilmenite include seafloor sampling, geophysical surveys, including magnetic surveys either airborne or from a vessel, shallow drilling on average 10m beneath the seafloor, and bulk sampling with each sample being up to two tonnes.

Because the area is within New Zealand territorial waters, Pacific Offshore Mining Limited requires the exploration permit from New Zealand Petroleum & Minerals, and a separate, resource consent from the Bay of Plenty Regional Council under the Resource Management Act before exploration can begin.

The application area runs parallel to Waihi Beach down to Bowentown, and starts about 2km offshore and goes out to about the 50m contour.

The application is opposed by the Green Party and environmental group Coromandel Watchdog, neither of whom can oppose the permit application.

Green MP and Coromandel resident Catherine Delahunty is calling on Pacific Offshore Mining to give up now and save themselves the expense of the fight they will face.

'We'll fight them on the beaches, we will fight them on the water, and we will do whatever it takes,” says Catherine.

Community group Coromandel Watchdog spokesperson Ruby Powell says Waihi Beach is a totally inappropriate place for seabed mining.

'We oppose any further degradation of the coastline in Coromandel.”

The group can only fight the company if it applies for a marine consent further down the track.

'The first step for us is making sure we are ready to be engaged in the democratic process.”

Raglan-based group Kiwis Against Seabed Mining is calling for a moratorium on seabed mining.

'This is the kind of thing the government is trying to encourage," says KASM spokeswoman Cindy Baxter.

'It's a ridiculous notion to have half the New Zealand seabed dug up. Pacific Offshore Minerals is buying into a big fight.”