Critical minerals for what — and at what cost?

Climate Justice Taranaki is warning that the Government’s rush toward critical minerals mining risks environmental destruction, Treaty breaches and long-term economic harm.

Government push for critical minerals

This week, Prime Minister Chris Luxon will attend a summit in Washington to negotiate an alliance over critical minerals with twenty other countries, including the G7 members – Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the UK and the US, as well as India, Australia and others. Yesterday during an interview, Luxon said “Absolutely yes we do” want a critical minerals sector. Why? “Over the next 20 years, AI super conductors that’s where the focus will be, and that critical minerals are critical to unlocking that.” Luxon also said that it’d be developed on our “brutal self-interest”.

Climate Justice Taranaki’s objections

Climate Justice Taranaki do not agree.

“No, we don’t want a critical minerals sector here in Aotearoa New Zealand. We are this little country at the bottom of the world. Our natural assets are our unique ecosystems, our remnant forests, wetlands, indigenous species and wild oceans. As has happened repeatedly, thanks to brutal self-interest, typically of foreign firms, mining will destroy these and the clean waterways and land that we, Māori and pākehā, depend on for wellbeing and a sustainable economy.

The Planning and Natural Environment Bills put corporate property rights over human health and the environment. The Fast Track Approvals Act facilitates extractive industries and there is a general disregard for the Crown’s obligations under Te Tiriti o Waitangi,” said Catherine Cheung of Climate Justice Taranaki.

“The inconvenient truth is that the Crown does not have confirmed ownership of all territories including the seabed. There are several ongoing court cases around Customary Marine Title under the Marine and Coastal Area Act (MACA) which companies ought to be wary of,” said Tuhi-Ao Bailey, also of Climate Justice Taranaki.

Environmental, treaty and economic risks

“It is naive to believe that opening Aotearoa for more mining, whether it’s for AI development, US military or other purposes, will be in our self-interest. Sure, there will be some royalties and tax revenues. But reality tells us that most of the economic benefits will boost the wealth of the already wealthy rather than ‘trickle down’ to struggling families. If history serves, big chunks of the supposed benefits may also end up for costly decommissioning or site remediation when companies like Tamarind Taranaki Ltd. go broke.

A different vision for Aotearoa

More difficult to quantify are the unfixable losses of nature and fractured communities resulting from mining. Rather than joining the global mining race, we should focus on strengthening our resilience like food security and restoring our precious natural capital,” concluded Cheung.

References:

1. https://www.theguardian.com/business/2026/feb/01/us-uk-eu-australia-critical-minerals-rare-earths-g7-minimum-price
2. https://www.rnz.co.nz/national/programmes/morningreport/audio/2019021332/weekly-interview-with-prime-minister-christopher-luxon
3. https://newsroom.co.nz/2026/01/30/nz-in-talks-with-us-on-trump-minerals-deal/?
4. https://theconversation.com/trump-is-threatening-more-tariffs-over-access-to-critical-minerals-will-nz-be-targeted-273780
5. https://www3.parliament.nz/en/pb/sc/make-a-submission/document/54SCENV_SCF_BA467863-D6B0-4968-1027-08DE369D9192/planning-bill-and-natural-environment-bill