[1][2][3] In 2016 TTR applied to the Environmental Protection Authority for permission to mine minerals from the seabed off the West Coast of the North Island of New Zealand, an area known as the South Taranaki Bight.
[7] A seabed survey by the National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research in 2023 found that the area that would be affected by the marine discharge had rocky reefs with abundant life including "kelp forests, macroalgal meadows, and gardens of 39 species of sponge.
The Supreme Court unanimously rejected the appeal “over lack of environmental caution”, directing the EPA to decline the proposed mining “if consent conditions could not prevent pollution”.
[17] The Minister for Infrastructure Chris Bishop responded by saying this was misleading, as the 'invitation' TTR was referring to was a form letter his office had sent to more than 200 organisations that had expressed interested in the Fast Track Approvals process.
[18] Environmental group Kiwis Against Seabed Mining subsequently made a complaint to the ASX about TTR claiming to hold a consent and not declaring to shareholders that this has been quashed.
[22] It retracted the claim two days later, causing Kiwis Against Seabed Mining to call for the TTR proposal to be removed from the Fast Track approved projects.