Coal in New Zealand

New Zealand coal reserves are in excess of 15 billion tonnes, mainly in Waikato, Taranaki, West Coast, Otago and Southland.

[1] Some Maori tribes had known of coal (waro) and its use as cooking fuel,[2] but large-scale mining only commenced with arrival of European settlers.

In March 1896, 65 coal miners were killed during the Brunner Mine disaster; as of 2021 this remained New Zealand's most deadly industrial accident.

[9] In 2020 New Zealand imported 1.084 million tonnes of coal, of which 90 per cent was sourced from Indonesia and the remainder from Australia.

[9] Two-thirds of the imported coal was used by the Huntly Power Station, with the remainder being used by New Zealand Steel and Golden Bay Cement.

Part of the Maramarua Open Cast Coal Mine in 1966. The aerial cableway in the photo transported coal directly to the nearby Meremere Power Station .
The burial of the victims of the 1896 Brunner Mine disaster