Manuka’s Taranaki VTM Project Invited to Apply under New Zealand’s Fast Track Approvals Bill

Manuka Resources Limited (ASX: MKR) is an Australian mining and exploration company with key gold and silver assets located in the Cobar Basin, central west New South Wales and offshore vanadium bearing iron sands in the South Taranaki Bight of New Zealand.

Highlights

• On 5 April 2024 the New Zealand Government formally invited Manuka’s wholly owned subsidiary, Trans-Tasman Resources Limited (TTR), to prepare an application for the Taranaki VTM Project to be included as a Listed Project in New Zealand’s Fast Track Approvals Bill.
  
• The invitation represents a positive step toward Manuka achieving the final approvals required to develop and operate the world-class Taranaki VTM Project, a 3.2 billion tonne vanadium titanomagnetite iron sand resource¹ located offshore in the South Taranaki Bight of New Zealand, with a granted Mining License permitting production of 5Mtpa.

Background

On 5 April 2024 the Hon Chris Bishop, the New Zealand Government Minister Responsible for Resource Management Act (RMA) Reform and Leader of the House, formally invited Manuka’s wholly owned subsidiary, Trans-Tasman Resources Limited (TTR), to prepare an application for the Taranaki VTM Project to be included in New Zealand’s Fast Track Approvals Bill (the Bill).

The Bill was introduced to the New Zealand Parliament on 7 March 2024 with the objective of providing a streamlined decision-making process to facilitate the delivery of infrastructure and development projects with significant regional or national benefits.

The New Zealand Government has established a process to identify projects for inclusion in the Bill. This will involve a group of independent experts - the Fast-Track Projects Advisory Group (Advisory Group) - who will be assessing nominated projects against the referral criteria of the Bill and making recommendations to Ministers. TTR has been invited to nominate the Taranaki VTM Project for inclusion in the Bill by submitting an application to the Advisory Group for consideration.

Next Steps

The Advisory Group will make recommendations to the relevant Ministers, who will then make decisions on what projects to include in the Bill. These projects will be added to the Bill either through the Environmental Select Committee process or later in the Parliamentary process.

TTR is currently preparing an application for the Taranaki VTM Project to be included in the Bill. Applications are due to be lodged by 3 May 2024.

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