Rio Tinto is well aware the government will not accept anything less than a thorough remediation plan for the Bluff plant where aluminium has been made for decades, the Energy Minister says.
Tiwai Point. Photo: Graham Dainty 2012
Negotiations between the government and New Zealand Aluminium Smelters which is owned by Rio Tinto have entered rocky territory, with frustration boiling over at the lack of information being provided by the owners of the Tiwai Point plant in Southland.
Finance Minister Grant Robertson has written to Rio Tinto to say the government has suspended talks with the company until it commits to a high standard of remediation ahead of the Bluff plant shutting down in 2024.
Rio Tinto has previously told RNZ it would conduct a study of how to close Tiwai Point in a responsible manner, with input from independent scientists.
Any cleanup will involve disposing of 181,000 tons of stockpiled spent cell-liner waste, which leaks cyanide and fluoride.
Energy and Resources Minister Megan Woods told Morning Report she had not seen any formal response to the letter. "But there has been communications at an officials' level. But Rio always knew for the government the bottom line in any relief around transmission pricing was reaching agreement on an adequate site remediation plan."
"I can't give you a concrete timeline" - Energy Minister Megan Woods
On 23 February Environment Minister David Parker told Morning Report he was "incredibly frustrated" at the "uncooperative" company.
However, Woods said the current relationship between Rio Tinto and the government is cordial and professional but the latter was not prepared to accept "a toxic wasteland" where aluminium had been made for decades.
"They're telling us they can't give us the information [on remediation] ... so what we've committed to is working with them on their own site closure study which is going to be important.
"But we've also set up in parallel to that our own study of the site..."
Megan Woods says the government cannot accept "a toxic wasteland" once there is no more aluminium production at the Bluff smelter. Photo: RNZ / Dom Thomas
Woods said there were two processes in train because of the urgency of the situation.
"I can't give you a concrete timeline [for getting information] because that work has just got underway ... contractors are already in place and information will start coming through. Noone wants to see that information more than the government."
She said the government was also working closely with Ngāi Tahu who are the whenua of the land.
Funding had been given to Environment Southland so that it could help with the government's study.
"Our bottom line is serious... We have deferred any negotiations around transmission pricing because our duty to New Zealanders is to make sure that there is an adequate remediation plan for that land," Woods said.
Drilling of bores
Meanwhile, the Tiwai Point smelter has drilled almost 240 bore holes in the last two months to take samples to measure environmental impacts.
The smelter company said it respects the local community and will share further information on its closure studies as soon as possible.
Smelter chief executive Stew Hamilton said the company recognises that its impact and responsibilities don't end when operations cease.