Spring Creek Mine, Greymouth, Grey District, West Coast Region, New Zealandi

Regional Level Types
Spring Creek Mine	Mine
Greymouth	- not defined -
Grey District	District
West Coast Region	Region
New Zealand	Country

An abandoned coal mine 15 kilometres north of Greymouth, and just east of Dunollie. Coal was first noted here in 1908.

Coal is found at Spring Creek in the Rewanui Coal Measure in seams 12 to 20 metres thick, occasionally to 40 metres, dipping south-west 15-20 degrees, 250-400 metres below the surface. It is bituminous semi soft coal, with a low ash and sulphur content.

State owned Solid Energy took over the lease in 2002, and opened a mine here in 2007 as a joint venture with Cagill. Later Solid Energy took over full control of the mine. When operating the mine employed about 230 workers, producing 45,000 to 70,000 tonnes of coal per year.

Late 2012 the mine was placed into care and maintenance. This energised sleepy Greymouth into protest with about one thousand people marching through the streets calling for the mine to be re-opened. Clean energy, more national parks, and tourism jobs hold little appeal to some miners on the West Coast. Senior Spring Creek miner, Alan Gardiner, on learning of the mine's closure is reported to have said 'It is unlikely selling lemonade to tourists would make-up for the loss of well paid mining jobs'.

Officially the company said the mine was operating at a loss. While no doubt true, safety factors also played a part. As the only remaining underground coal mine in the region, a safety spotlight had been shone on the mine by authorities after the Pike River Mine disaster in 2010. Shortly before closure, the Department of Labour had cited the company over several safety breaches, and ordered the ceasing of operations until corrected.

Solid Energy went into liquidation in 2015, and when a buyer could not be found for the Spring Creek Mine it was allowed to flood and was sealed in 2017.

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