Iwi Consultation & Regulations

The environment is interrelated and essential to Māori culture, economy, identity, and well-being. Māori often speak of their role as kaitiaki (guardian), for the sky, sea, and land - the process and practices of protecting and looking after the environment are referred to as kaitiakitanga. The Conservation Act 1987 and the Resource Management Act 1991 (RMA) provide for recognition of the Treaty of Waitangi and kaitiakitanga. Section 7 of the RMA requires all individuals involved with managing the use, development, and protection of natural and physical resources to have “particular regard” to kaitiakitanga.

RMA provisions encourage Māori participation in the management of natural and physical resources and requires the consideration of Māori values, culture and tradition in resource management decision making. Any application for Resource Consent considered to be of National Importance will be overseen by the EPA.

In order to recognise and respect the Crown’s responsibility to take appropriate account of the Treaty of Waitangi (a) section 18 establishes the Māori Advisory Committee to advise the EPA on policy, process, and decisions of the EPA under the environmental Act; and (b) the EPA and any person acting on behalf of the EPA must comply with the requirements of an environmental Act in relation to the Treaty, when exercising powers or functions under that Act.

The function of the Māori Advisory Committee is to provide advice and assistance to the EPA on matters relating to policy, process, and decisions of the EPA under an environmental Act or this Act. The advice and assistance must be given from the Māori perspective and come within the terms of reference of the committee as set by the EPA.

Crown Minerals Act 1991

Under Section 33C; Iwi engagement reports - Every holder of a Tier 1 permit must provide to the Minister an annual report of the holder’s engagement with iwi or hapū whose rohe includes some or all of the permit area or who otherwise may be directly affected by the permit. The Crown have an obligation under the Crown Minerals Act to consult iwi and hapū on proposed permit application areas falling within their rohe. Relevant iwi and hapū are notified and NZP&M provides a report to the Minister on the response received from consultation.The Minister must take into account iwi and hapū requests to exclude areas or require additional requirements for activities before making a final decision on the areas to be included in the application.

SANOFEX engages with Iwi through an advisory partner

Our advisory partner consults to SANOFEX on all matters Iwi and specialises in working with Maori and commercial entities in regard to natural resource development and brings experience from developments of national significance. Our advisory partner has held numerous hui and through the korero and exchange of whakaaro (“ideas”) SANOFEX has developed an understanding of key areas for Maori.

Over the coming years the goal is to develop relationships with tangata whenua who have mana moana, mana whenua over the seabed of the permits and hold wananga to enable Maori to gain an understanding of the developments in their rohe and furthermore for the SANOFEX developments to incorporate their concerns and aspirations. One key concept has been defined in line with the Kaitiaki (guardianship) role of Iwi in relation to their Rohe, specific to the areas of the exploration interests of SANOFEX.

Environment

Respect for the environment is central to our approach. Wherever possible we prevent or otherwise minimise, mitigate and remediate harmful effects that our operations may have.

We work in partnership with our stakeholders, such as local communities and conservation groups. This collaborative approach helps us increase our understanding of the risks, challenges and opportunities we face and how best to manage them.

The rate of biodiversity loss remains a serious global concern as the human population grows and competes with habitats containing the world’s remaining biodiversity. Our activities have the potential to adversely impact biodiversity and this generates significant interest with key stakeholders, including government, local communities and non-government organisations (NGOs). SANOFEX has long recognised the importance of sound biodiversity management and our strategy requires understanding biodiversity risk and impacts.

Where appropriate we develop and implement an action plan to understand and minimise impacts and to achieve a net positive impact (NPI).

We recognise the need to understand and adapt to the physical impacts of climate change, which will affect our operations, particularly through the availability of water and the occurrence of extreme weather events. We believe that global energy and climate challenges are best met by companies, governments and society working together.

Our strategy is to maximise shareholder returns by making our assets more resilient against uncertain carbon and energy market risks. During our exploration operations, we generate no net mineral and no non-mineral waste. We put controls in place to limit the negative environmental impact of our projects, and reduce our operating costs and risks. More information can be found in our Environmental Management Policy.

Sustainable Development

Sustainable development is commonly defined as "development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs." While it cannot be achieved by one organisation on its own, we believe that our business can make an important contribution to the ongoing, global transition to sustainable development.

Our strategy of investing in large, long-term, cost competitive businesses means that we operate on extended time horizons. Some of our projects will last 50 years or more from mineral discovery through to closure, representing large scale, long-term investments in fixed capital, often situated in remote locations. These long-term commitments provide opportunities for us to plan, implement and deliver sustainable contributions to social wellbeing, environmental stewardship and economic prosperity, within our governance systems.

Our focus on sustainable development provides the framework in which our business operates. This allows us to maintain a highly regarded reputation that ensures ongoing access to people, capital and mineral resources. This in turn helps us to deliver better return for our shareholders, manage risk effectively, reduce environmental impacts, cut operating costs, attract and retain high calibre employees and provide more business development opportunities. These factors help differentiate SANOFEX from its competitors and contribute to our goal of being the undisputed sector leader in creating value for our stakeholders.

The minerals and metals to be produced at our operations contribute to society's needs, creating wealth to support community infrastructure, health care and education programmes, and delivering financial dividends for our shareholders.

Our activities also provide the means and opportunity to develop new approaches to solving the world's environmental and human development challenges, such as climate change and poverty.

We also recognise that, if not managed appropriately, some aspects of our activities have the ability to detract from sustainable development, such as options for the future use of water and land; amenity impacts on local communities; and greenhouse gas emissions from our operations and the use of our future products.

We are developing a structured framework to ensure that we meet the goal of contributing to the global transition to sustainable development. This framework contains the "must have" building blocks, which represent SANOFEX's high-level business drivers.

Our global code of business conduct reinforces our commitment to integrate sustainable development thinking in the way we make decisions about finding, acquiring, developing, and operating assets around the world.

Ocean Governance

The Marine and Coastal Area (Takutai Moana) Act 2011, which declares the foreshore and seabed area a commons incapable of ownership, protects public use rights (access, recreation, navigation and fishing), and re-establishes the right of Māori to claim customary marine use rights and title.

The Marine and Coastal Area Act does not provide for ownership, Māori or otherwise, but provides for non-ownership title and significant input into RMA consent processes within the titled area, which is not the same as the common idea of control through ownership.

The passing of the Marine and Coastal Area (Takutai Moana) Act (MCCA) on 24 March 2011 established a new regime for recognition of customary rights and title over the foreshore and seabed.

The Exclusive Economic Zone and Continental Shelf (Environmental Effects) Act was introduced in September 2012. The Environmental Effects Act fills the gaps in the regulation of ‘environmental effects’ for the country’s EEZ and extended continental shelf (ECS). The Act also provides for the development of natural resources in the EEZ and ECS, while identifying and assessing adverse effects of activities. It sets out an obligation for adverse environmental effects to be avoided, remedied, or mitigated.

Environmental assessments are developed under the new Environmental Protection Authority (EPA), which has jurisdiction over permitting uses within the marine area beyond 12nm. This Act puts in place an effective consenting process for marine mineral projects. It establishes a framework for regulations that will classify activities as permitted, discretionary or prohibited; sets out decision-making criteria that recognise biological values; and requires decision makers to take a precautionary approach when information is limited. Refer to the EPA website.

Environmental Management Policy

Respect for the environment is central to our approach to sustainable development. Wherever possible we prevent, or otherwise minimise, mitigate and remediate, harmful effects of the SANOFEX Group's operations on the environment. The policy is under continual development to maintain standards in keeping with best available information.