A group trying to overturn mining consents in a gorge at the base of the Coromandel range has been granted a judicial review.
The lobby group Protect Karangahake is challenging consents given to the company New Talisman for sample gold-mining in the Karangahake Gorge.
Karangahake Mountain Photo: SUPPLIED / John Fitzgerald
New Talisman plans to extract about 600 tonnes of ore a month after gaining consent from the Hauraki District Council late last year.
But, Protect Karangahake said the consents should first have been open for public submissions and said the work would have a negative impact on the area's recreational values.
Protect Karangahake committee member Sabine Hartmann said she was relieved the High Court had accepted her group's case.
"There was no public consultation prior to the consent being granted so this id the only chance we have to stop our beautiful mountain being exploited again," she said.
The review hearing will take place in the High Court in Auckland in July.