New Zealand's coal mines have been able to continue operating under level 4, with no distinction between whether the coal is for domestic use or to be exported.
New Zealand has significantly increased its use of coal in recent years. Photo: 123rf / ©Carol Buchanan
A spokesperson from the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE) said all 17 of New Zealand's coal mines that were operating prior to the alert level 4 announcement have been able to continue operating as key utilities producing solid fuel.
The open cast mines are located in Waikato, the West Coast, Otago and Southland.
Not all of those mines were open to the public for coal sales when level 4 was announced, but an exemption to the health order was made to allow public contactless collection.
The spokesperson said the public health order did not make a distinction between coal for domestic or export use.
MBIE states coal production in the Waikato is for several industrial users and the Huntly Power Station, while coal production on the West Coast is mainly for export and in Otago and Southland it is to service local industrial markets.
New Zealand has significantly increased its use of coal in recent years.
Figures from MBIE show New Zealand produced more than 2.8 million tonnes of coal in 2020 and exported 1.1m tonnes, while a further million tonnes of coal was imported mostly from Indonesia.