The fight for iron sands: the bitter battle to protect New Zealand's sea-floor riches

Government's push to fast-track projects in NZ stirs fears deep-sea mining off Taranaki, long opposed by the community, could go ahead Three fishers sit around a bare table in Pātea Boating Club, a few hundred metres back from New Zealand's south Taranaki coastline. Pigeons have left droppings on the floorboards, and through the salt-dusted windows the ocean pounds against the black sand. "This is one of the best fishing areas in the country," the club's commodore, Steve Corrigan, says of the S...