contents of this page
• The new sand mining proposal: A sand mining company proposes to take sand from deep water.
• Locality map: a bird's eye view of the entire area from Auckland to Whangarei.
• Society's need for sand: sand has become an indispensable resource for society's functioning.
• Sand for glass:
• Sand for concrete
• Sand for fill
• Sand for beach renourishment
• Geology: understanding the physical environment.
• The origin of the sand: sea sand comes from eroding land.
• Geology of the Hauraki Gulf: the Gulf has a surprising history.
• Sustainability: how much sand is there and can it be mined sustainably?
• Threats to beaches and dunes: beaches and dunes can suffer from the mining of sea sand. Where should we mine?
• Where does the beach end? recent findings give some clues.
• Places where sand could be mined: sand is not deposited equitably, and in some places hinders beach self-repair.
• The present situation: how much sand is already being taken from the sea?
• Pakiri Beach
• Te Arai Point
• Mangawhai
• Consequences of mining the sea sand: the act of dredging can be threatening the environment.
• Reasonable and effective restrictions: mining sea sand in an environmentally friendly way.
• How other countries protect their beaches.
• Appendices
• Concrete, its use and how it is made: much sand is used for making concrete. What is involved?
• Glass and how it is made: glass is made from sand. It has been an important resource for mankind.
• Related information: related knowledge, not found on this page
• References: books and publications
• Statement of evidence of the Company's consulting engineer, explaining situation and methods. (9 pages)

The new proposal by Kaipara Excavators, is to mine designated areas of the continental shelf close to Auckland (see map) for an amount of 2 million cubic metres (2 Mm3) of sand at depths of 25-60 metres, and over an area of 500km2, in the course of 35 years. If such sand were taken equitably from the entire area, it would amount to no more than a fraction of a millimetre per year. But the fear exists, that the operation will affect nearby beaches. For details of the proposal, read the consulting engineer's statement of evidence  (9 pages).
From an environmental viewpoint, disturbing such a large area, even once in thirty years, would disturb the bottom communities which together form the sea soil. With the knowledge that ploughing fields on land causes serious disturbance to soil, it is feared that the operation may invoke profound ecological changes that could affect the entire continental shelf ecosystem.

In New Zealand, the Resource Management Act requires anyone affecting either land, water or air, to apply for a resource consent. Managed by the regional government authority, the proposal inevitably finds its way to the Environment Court, where objectors can make submissions.

Sea Tow sand dredge and tug operating in Parengarenga Harbour. The large barge is equipped with a suctioning pipe and crane. As it lies anchored, the pipe is moved from side to side, in order to cut a swath in the sea bottom. The sand suctioned here consists of almost pure quartz, and is used for making glass.

The entrance to Mangawhai Harbour runs past Mangawhai Heads, and is besieged by sand blockages. In this picture a fast boat is seen wending its way into the treacherous passage, while in the background a Sea Tow sand suctioning barge takes sand for Auckland's spreading population, over 100km by sea away.

Locality map This map gives an overview of the area, complete with place names. Auckland is New Zealand's largest city, but not its capital. It was established in the narrow neck of the North Island, where east and west coasts are only a few kilometres apart. The Hauraki Gulf is the area enclosed by the Firth of Thames inlet in the south, and Little and Great Barrier Islands in the north. In 2001 the management of this area, which resorts under several local and regional councils, was brought together in the Hauraki Gulf Marine Park Forum. In this manner it is hoped to manage the area consistently and sustainably. The management also involves processing of resource consents. Present sea sand mining is done in the clear waters near Pakiri Beach, and further north, towards Mangawhai. The sea bed of the Firth of Thames is muddy, and so is the area south of a line from Whangaparaoa to Colville.

Sand for glass
Glass is made chiefly from high quality, clean sand. It is a hard, clear, inert substance which is formed at high temperatures, and is extremely resistant to wear, tear, and ageing. Glass is used extensively by society for window-glazing, liquid containers, and glassware. Small quantities of specialty glass are used for optics, electronics (lasers, fibre-optics, semiconductors). Read more about glass and glass making in the box below.

Sand for concrete
Liquid stone, or concrete as it is named, was invented before the first world war, but became popular in the second world war. It was used in the construction of military bunkers, airfield tarmac and roads. Concrete is basically made from hard rock. Rock is broken (crushed) into small pieces (between 20 and 40mm maximally), then sieved (graded) into various size grades from 'dust' to 40mm aggregate. Mixed with cement and water, the mixture is poured in place and left to harden. This hardening is a chemical process of growing cement crystals, consisting of long, microscopic fingers which enmesh the rock grains, while securely attaching to them. Within 7 days most of the strength is attained, but hardening takes another three weeks to reach design strength. The more cement added, and the harder the rock, the stronger the concrete becomes.
Sand is needed (about one third) because the broken rock, does not fit neatly together again. Like the aggregate rock, the sand must also be strong and clean, for the cement crystals to attach to. Unlike the broken rock, sand can become polluted by its environment, rendering it less suitable. Inclusions of mud, silt, clay and organic matter affect concrete strength considerably. Hence the need for clean ('sharp') sand. Beach sand, being washed over and over again by every wave pounding on the beach, is preferred. It consists mainly of extremely hard quartz (SiO2, silicon dioxide). In order to predict concrete quality reliably, sand must also be of consistent size. Sea sand, containing over 10% moisture by weight, needs to be washed to remove its salt. Quality sand for concrete comes close to NZ$25 per cubic metre.
Read more about concrete at the end of this document.

Sand for fill
Sand has a number of desirable properties for use as foundation underneath parking places, buildings and roads: it drains groundwater freely and it stays put, unlike soil or clay which can slide more easily. Sand does not expand or contract with changing moisture content, and resists high loads without sliding or compacting. Where sand contains high levels of mud, these qualities are compromised. A high lime content from broken shells, may cause the sand foundation to shrink over time due to acid rainwater slowly dissolving this lime.

Sand for beach renourishment
It has become common practice to renourish ailing beaches with new sea sand, particularly in very popular places where the cost can be justified economically by many visitors. In New Zealand the cost of one cubic metre of renourished sand is about NZ$40 (year 2000). It is believed that coarse sand stays on renourished beaches longer than fine sand. It is less prone to be moved by wind, so it won't blow into built-up areas, and being larger than the original sand, stays on top of it. Beach sand needs to be clean, but may include shells.

Note that the main component of sand is silica (silicon dioxide, SiO2) an extremely hard and slow-wearing substance, which may have originated from soil or volcanic eruptions a million years ago. Since no carbon is found inside silica, it cannot be carbon-dated. In between the sand grains, one also finds shell (calcium carbonate, CaCO3) and organic matter, which can be carbon-dated.

This diagram shows the profile of a beach with an exaggerated vertical scale. The depth of 40m is reached 2-6km out in sea. At this scale the modern sand (Holocene sand) lies 6-10m deep on the dunes, 2-6m deep by the beach and only 0.2-0.3m at 30m depth. All this sand belongs to the beach/dune system, and behaves as a non-renewable resource. Over the mid shelf, the sand is fine and mixed with mud. Deeper still, only mud is found. Underneath the Holocene sand, a deep layer of iron-tainted Pleistocene sand is found, and beneath that the bedrock. In the photos below, the nature of the deep sand can be seen. Even at 42 metres depth, the sand is stirred occasionally by large storm waves, which 'winnow' the fine sand and sweep it forward to the beach. The coarser sand and shell remain..  The ecological communities living here are insufficiently known to science. Even the functioning of this 'sea soil' is poorly understood.

. Detail of the sandy bottom off Pakiri Beach at 30m depth. This is too deep for plant growth, but various marine organisms live on top and in the sand. The sand is rather coarse and shelly, and disturbed frequently..

Detail of the sandy bottom off Pakiri Beach at 42m depth. Note the size of the 'mega ripples', and debris from marine life in between. The sand is coarse and shelly. Even at this depth, the sand is disturbed regularly.

The latest additions to the pool of sand come from present-day rivers, but before it becomes a play ball of the water, sand is formed from rock by weathering under a layer of soil and vegetation. Although sand grains are found in sand stone and consolidated beach sand, they are not part of the earth's crust or of metamorphosed rock, nor even of mud stone. During the weathering process, the chemical composition of rock is changed, and in the process, sand is formed from dissolved silicates. Other products formed are clay and silt. Together they form the many kinds of loam. From the loams, under influence of vegetation, soils are formed.
It takes many thousands of years for rock to turn into sub soil, then top soil, then being washed into rivers, and finally ending up in the sea.

When soils erode, they wash into the rivers. The particles are sorted out depending on the speed of the current - first in the river and later by waves in the sea. Large particles such as pebbles, settle out in the lower reaches of rivers and close to their mouths. Sand stays along the coast to form beaches and dunes. Silt and clay are washed down to the deep. The sedimentation and erosion diagram below shows how currents erode and deposit various grain sizes of sand and rock. The scale both horizontally and vertically is highly compressed (logarithmic). Sand with grain sizes between 0.2 and 1.0 mm (mostly 0.25-0.5mm) form beaches and dunes because they can be transported by both wind and waves, while being able to stay put once laid down. The finer silt and clay particles are reluctant to settle out, but once a cake has been formed, are difficult to move.
It is wrong to assume that coastal erosion adds sand to the coastal sand budget, because the weathering described above, has not happened. But it does add fine rock particles. At any rate, the amount of sand entering the sea, depends on the size of the catchment area, rainfall and erosion rates (land use). For the Pakiri coast, the catchment area is extremely small, which also accounts for its usually clear waters.
 
 

reading the erosion and sedimentation graph The behaviour of particles in water as researched by Heezen and Hollister (1964) has produced the most important diagram above. It basically has a left-hand curve for sedimentation and a right-hand curve for erosion. Horizontally it shows water velocity and vertically particle size but the scales are logarithmic. The straight line in the middle gives a square root relationship meaning that a particle needs to be 100 times larger in diameter to sink 10 times faster, as is true for large particles. A widening gap exists between the lefthand and the righthand curves, meaning that particles need higher water velocities to erode, but once dislodged, need a much lower water speed to settle out again. The righthand curve for erosion bends forward for small particles like silt and clay, meaning that once these have settled, much higher currents are needed to dislodge them again. As you can see, the lefthand curve for sedimentation, runs rather flat for small particles, following the law of Stokes where a 10 times larger particle sinks 100 times faster. In between these two extremes the relationship is about linear such that a 10 times larger particle also sinks 10 times faster. Beach sand with its size of 0.2-0.5mm behaves like this. It is also located at the bump in the erosion curve where erosion is independent of water speed, which makes these particles eminently transportable. We would have liked to see similar research done on wind speed and particle size, but to our knowledge this has never been done.

Geology of the Hauraki Gulf About 20 million years ago, the whole region from Whangarei in the north to Hamilton in the south, was covered by an inland sea, the Waitemata Basin. This sea was lined by a hardish basement rock, greywacke, which also constituted the rim of the basin on the east side where Great Barrier Island is today, and the north side near Whangarei. The western rim was lined with volcanoes. The greywacke lining and borders belonged to a group known as the Waipapa Group which possibly derived from the erosion products of the parent rocks of old Gondwana of which Australia was a component. Its hardness was a result of compression and heating.  The debris from the volcanic activity in the west and the erosion products of the greywacke land mass to the east and north slumped or were washed into the basin, and settled on its floor in layers. In time, these sediments formed various rocks: sandstones from fragments the size of sand (mainly of volcanic origin), and siltstones and mudstones from the finer debris. These are the types of material found near the surface of the present day catchments. They are known as the Waitemata Group of rocks, after the name of the basin in which they were formed. There are numerous exposed cliff sites where these layered sedimentary rocks can be seen.

Later, the Waitemata Basins lifted up and the sandstones, siltstones and mudstones emerged to be the materials which have in turn weathered to produce the soil of the present catchments. These Waitemata rocks were not subjected to the high pressures and temperatures needed to change them into recalcitrant material (like greywacke). They are mostly soft and easily eroded.

Two major tectonic events, or deformations, subsequently determined the overall form of the region as we see it today. A large, long block of the basin's greywacke downfaulted (slumped or sank) to form the Firth of Thames and the central Hauraki Gulf, into which the ancient ancestral Waikato River flowed and transported the debris of the central volcanoes of the Taupo region. The other event was that Northland gently uplifted and tilted downwards to the west.
The sandstones, etc. were then, in their turn, eroded and their debris washed into the Hauraki Gulf, and after the rise in sea level, also into the tideways. There have been many rises and falls of sea level (about 30). The processes of sediment erosion and accumulation are still active. Sediments with depths of 10-20m have been measured in the Waitemata and Mahurangi harbours. Rates of sediment accumulation, averaged over the time since the tideways were first flooded, have been estimated to be about 1-2 mm/yr.
(After Harris, T F W: Hauraki Gulf Tideways, elements of their natural sciences. Univ Auckland Leigh Lab Bull No 29, 1993.

The Hauraki Gulf was formed when a large block of continental crust slumped 500-2000 metres downward, leaving a wide and deep valley to be filled by the Waikato River, which flowed into the Gulf at the time. A large quantity of sand, gravel and other deposits, is found here, filling the undersea chasm above a bedrock of metamorphosed greywacke rock. Heat and pressure will slowly solidify and metamorphose these new deposits, but near the surface, a very large amount of 'old' sand is found, which is still loosely packed. During the last 250,000 years, the sea level rose and fell perhaps as many as 30 times, and its average elevation has been about 45m below present sea level, which has occurred for only 5% of the time. The Waikato River alternated its course from the Firth of Thames to the West Coast several times. 220,000-65,000 years ago and 25,000-20,000 years ago it flowed into the Firth of Thames.
Little Barrier Island, Great Barrier Island and the Coromandel ranges were formed about 2 million years ago by extensive volcanism. The young volcanic deposits and ashes also filled the rift valley. The drawing shows an actual cross section of the sea bottom between Leigh and Mokohinau Islands in a north-easterly direction. It shows how the greywacke bedrock drops down to 'unplumbed depths', and that a thick layer of unconsolidated sediment is found under the sea bottom (after Ferguson, 1974). This layer may contain a large store of sand that may one day be mined. The amount of Pleistocene sand in the Pakiri-Mangawhai embayment ranges from 9m (at 10m depth) to 36m (at 40m depth) and comprises 1,700 - 3,000 million m3.

The map also shows the extent of the new coastal management zone, the (Greater) Hauraki Gulf Marine Park.

Ferguson, S R: The velocity structure of the sea-bed and basement rocks between Leigh and the Mokohinau Islands. MSc Thesis, Univ Auckland, 1974
Hayward, B W: Origin of the offshore islands of Northern New Zealand and their landform development. NZ Dept Lands & Survey Inf Series No16: 129-138. 1986.
Hochstein, M P et al: Structure of the Hauraki Rift (New Zealand). Royal Soc NZ Bull 24, 1986.
 
 

Sustainability Central to the need for tapping any resource, stands the question of how long one can keep doing so without running out. Although sand is one of the world's most plentiful resources (perhaps as much as 20% of the Earth's crust is sand), clean sand is becoming rare, particularly since muddy deposits from rampant soil erosion world-wide, are now filling the coastal shelves and basins. For instance, the coarse sand needed to renourish America's most popular beaches, is already running out. Clean sand for making glass is indeed a rare commodity, and becoming rarer. Volcanic glass, produced naturally by some volcanoes, has always been rare, requiring primitive people to travel long distances to obtain it.

In order to find answers to this question, the Auckland Regional Council (ARC) commissioned a sand study in 1994. Its report became available in 1998 for stake holders, and in 2000 for the general public. Based on sound scientific investigations done by NIWA (National Institute for Water and Atmosphere), new insight was gained into the physics, geology and movements of the sand. These findings have been used throughout this article.
 
 

The Pakiri-Mangawai sand system is bounded by rocky promontories in the north and south. Deep waves arrive from the north-east through the gap between Great Barrier Island and the Hen and Chicken Islands. Sea winds are predominantly easterly (westerly winds are land winds). These two forces move the sand around in the area, but little escapes. The easterly winds, generated locally, cause short waves breaking on the beach and moving the beach sand NW along the beach in the littoral zone (estimated 0.78 Mm3/yr). By the headlands, the sand moves into deeper water where it is moved back towards the beach in a SW direction by large storm waves arriving from the NE. The sand store here is thus essentially static, but how much new sand arrives from erosion?

As seen from this map, the rain catchment area is rather small, and thus the amount of sand entering the bay. Scientists estimate it at 8,000m3/yr, less than 1/10th of the amount of sand mined today (102,000m3 taken against a permit of 165,000m3/yr). Assuming a catchment area of 200km2 (20,000ha) and erosion of 0.1 mm/yr (1 m3/ha), containing 30% sand, the simple estimate (7,000 m3/yr) made this way, matches the official estimate very closely. The point is, that the sea sand in this area is essentially a non-renewable resource. Then how much of it is is available and how soon are we likely to run out?

Scientists estimate the amount of sand in the rear dunes at 92-552 Mm3 (1000-5000 yr); in the foredunes 1.4 Mm3 (14 yr); Holocene sand on the sea bottom 82-142 Mm3 (80-140 yr); Pleistocene sand under the Holocene sand 1.7-3.0 Gm3 (170,000-300,000 years). Although the yearly takings are about 100,000m3, and expected to double in the coming 50 years, the amount of sand found here appears sufficient in perpetuity. The area of 500km2 (some of which outside the area of study) for which a 2Mm3 mining licence is sought, contains 0.1-0.3m of Holocene sand (wedge-shaped), or about 100Mm3 (1000yr).

The question arises what would happen once the Holocene sand on the sea bottom has been used up. Would the underlying Pleistocene sand change its properties once it is stirred around? Would it become clean like the Holocene sand?
In previous ice ages, when the sea level fell, the shoreline would move back out to sea, leaving the Holocene sand behind. As the wave action reached deeper sand, this would be swept towards the receding shoreline, effectively being cleansed in the breaker zone. At the height of the new ice age, the shoreline would remain static, collecting the Pleistocene sands, and adding newer sands, which will eventually be swept to the present shoreline at the end of the new ice age. Most likely, the brown Pleistocene sand would 'scrub up' fine, but there is no proof. In the meantime, it would be quite suitable for low quality fill.

As a wave spills and rushes onto a beach, it drags sand up the beach slope. The returning wave washes it back again, but being less powerful, leaves some sand behind. In the area between low and high tide, much sand is moved, but mainly to and from the shore. Under the influence of currents (often induced by winds), sand is easily moved in the wave zone along the beach. This is called littoral along-shore sand drift.

Once the tide recedes, the newly deposited sand starts to dry in the sunlight and sea wind. Once dried, the sea wind blows it to the dunes. The sand grains are too heavy to be air-borne, but saltate (jump) instead. In the lee of the foredune or of dune grasses, they stop moving. Sand accrues there. It is the combination of waves, sunlight, tides and wind that enable dunes to repair storm damage. These forms of energy essentially create a sand pump which pumps sand out of the water, effectively protecting the land from the sea. Once this mechanism is damaged, repair progresses more slowly (the beach is sick), and in some cases fails altogether (the beach dies). Beaches then continue to recede permanently.

Symptoms of sick and dead beaches are: steep scarps in the foredunes, left from a previous storm; a wide flat beach with 'hard' sand, which never dries; sand banks out in sea; polluted sand. Most beaches all over the world (70%), suffer from some or all of these symptoms, caused by the legacy of human civilisation: pollution, run-off, nutrients, sewage, building, shelter belts, and even dune plantings.

The shape of beaches, dunes and the sea bottom is maintained by the balance of forces that create them (tides, waves, wind, sun) and those that pull them down (gravity, rain). Wind and weather have a decisive influence, causing the beach profile to change from day to day, season to season and year to year. When sand is taken from this equation, a new balance will be found, and a new profile. In this manner, mining the sea sand can have a profound effect on the whole system and its entire profile. Where sand moves quickly (the beach), changes are felt soon, but where sand moves slowly (deep water), changes may not manifest themselves for decades. The question thus arises, where is the best place to mine the sand?

The cleanest, and thus most valuable sand is found in foredunes, beach and near-shore. But this is also the most sensitive band since its slope is steepest. Mining sand from this area will inevitably result in beach erosion. To prevent beach retreat, one should mine the areas with the least slope: the rear dunes and the deep sand. Most of the rear dunes have in the course of a century been planted, and the sand polluted by humus and trapped sediments. Likewise, the deep sand is being polluted by mud from unnaturally high soil erosion. A relatively narrow band between 25 - 60m depth (the inner shelf) gives the best compromise. Removing the Holocene sand found here will not influence the beach/dune system.

The question now is whether the sand removed from near-shore, will be replaced by off-shore sand and how soon. Sand removed from 6-10m depth, will most likely be replaced by beach sand to restore the balance, since the slope here is steepest. Deep storm waves will eventually move sand from deeper down (10-25m) towards the beach, but this may take many decades. However, when it happens, the sand is moved massively and over a huge area. So far, scientific knowledge about this process, is almost entirely lacking.
 
 

Where does the beach end? As one moves from the intertidal further out to sea, the sand becomes stirred less often and less thoroughly. There must be a point where the beach ends. Sand further seaward will not be a part of the beach system, since it either does not move at all, or it won't move towards the beach anymore. There are a number of clues to support this notion.

This diagram shows how the quality of the sand changes with depth. The red curve is the bottom profile, running from the dunes at 10m height on left, to a depth of -46m, on right. Vertical red lines show milestones of 10, 20, 30, and 40m depth along this profile. The coloured areas show the relative composition (0-100%) of the sea sand. According to the Wentworth scale, particles are defined as: mud less than 0.125mm; fine sand 0.125 - 0.25; medium sand 0.25 - 0.5 mm; coarse sand 0.5-1.0 mm. Note that the sand was taken from the surface of the sea bottom. Note also that this diagram applies only to Pakiri Beach. Other beaches may be more sheltered, having more gradual bottom profiles, or they may have a smaller continental shelf. However, the underlying principles may well apply to all beaches.

Close to the beach, the sand consists mainly of fine sand, which is capable of being moved by wind, thus forming part of the dune system. Fine sand also moves easily in the water, and up a steep beach slope. It is also easily moved away from the beach. Near the beach the sand is moved so often that it is cleansed from mud.
Further out, the sand is mainly of medium size, easily moved by waves but less so by wind, but such sand still forms dunes. Then comes an area of mainly coarse sand, which is not easily moved by waves, and is left behind, while its finer sand component was winnowed out by the wave action, moving towards the beach, possibly 4000 years ago when the sea level was lower. Then suddenly, the composition changes to fine sand and a substantial amount of mud comes in. This is the area where even large waves cannot move the sand towards the beach, and mud is soaked up by the fine sand. Deeper still where the waves are very seldom felt, the mud can settle out on top.

It is obvious that the sand mixed with mud (deeper than 40m), is moved so rarely, that it cannot be a part of the beach-dune system. Whereas the composition of the sand changes quite rapidly between 0 and 20m, and between 30 and 40m, it stays relatively constant between 20 and 30m. In this area the bottom slope also changes, to become flat. It means, that although the force moving sand out to sea is minimal here, the sand is not being winnowed in recent times, meaning that the movement towards the beach is also minimal (see note below). So, somewhere between 20m and 30m depth, the Pakiri beach effectively ends. This is called the closure depth.
 
 

Excessive amounts of sand are often experienced as a nuisance to society, such as encroaching rear dunes, sand in navigation channels and boat harbours, sand passing entrances to ports and so on. Such places are mined for economical reasons, producing sand while solving problems at the same time.

In front of the sand mining site at Pakiri Beach, dolphins search the waters for straying kahawai (Arripis trutta) . Although these waters are clear most of the year, the small catchment area of the Pakiri River contributes massive amounts of mud to the Goat Island marine reserve, which lies 1km down-stream from here (to the left).

This is the place where sand is taken from the dunes at the settlement of Pakiri. Sand deposited here, travelled along the beach, coming to rest in the lee before the hills on right. First washed by the waves, then winnowed by wind, this sand is of high pureness. Rains have already washed the salt out. Sand is scooped up by front-end loader into trucks. In the distance left, the profile of Goat Island.

The Pakiri beach sand contains a high proportion of pure quartz (glassy grains), hardly any shell (pink), some feldspar silicates (brownish) and little rock (dark grey). Scale is 15mm horizontally.

The sea sand found at 42m depth off the Pakiri Beach, near Te Arai Point, at the same scale as the photo on left. Notice the coarse quartz grains and many shell fragments.

A sand dredge is operating just east of Te Arai Point, close to the beach. The sand here belongs to the beach/dune system and taking it away so close to the beach, will in due time affect the beach in the background. In fact, in 2001 the beach eroded quite badly. Notice the many brown trees, salt-burnt by a recent summer storm

The dunes east of Te Arai Point (and to the west) are backed by a manmade forest of pine trees (Pinus radiata) . As these grew taller, they lifted the sea wind off the beach, thereby impairing the beach's self repair mechanism. With the sea wind reduced, the beach sand would not dry as quickly and once dried, would not be blown into the dunes. The dunes are seen here in the process of retreat, leaving steep banks behind. Yet, about 40-50 metres of dune remain between sea and trees. (photo taken in 1999)

Two years later (2001), at the same place, the storms had eaten their way into beach and dune, exposing the forest. From here on the dunes will continue eroding, unless the entire forest is felled, and burnt to remove humus and nutrients from the dunes. Bulldozers will then also need to reshape the fore dunes into a natural wind profile. Only in this way will the beach be given a chance to restore itself. The taking of sand from the sea may well have exacerbated the situation.

Consents for extraction 5km north and south of Te Arai Point for 1994-2004: McCallum Bros Ltd - 45,000 m3/yr; Sea Tow Ltd - 25,000 m3/yr; Kaipara Excavators Ltd - 45,000 m3/yr.
 

Mangawhai The Mangawhai Harbour forms the end of the long beach stretching from Pakiri to Mangawhai. The harbour lies behind a barrier spit which has been eroding in recent times. Most of the sand is now found out in sea in the form of shallow sand banks, which are being mined. This area is managed by the Northland Regional council.

The entrance to Mangawhai Harbour is dominated by a large sand spit. Its traditional entrance is by the Heads on left, but a storm broke through the spit, shifting the entrance further right (south-east). Locals then worked hard to close this outlet and dredge the main channel. It still remains a precarious situation. Sand dredges have been directed towards the sand bank top left, but this is further from their Auckland destination.

View of the Mangawhai sand spit, seen from the Heads, looking south-east. The false inlet can be seen on right, still a threat to the navigation channel. In the distance the beloved and hated dune, which used to be twice as tall and many times wider. Beyond that a planted dune forest of pine trees. The spit itself used to be covered in dunes, but is now a low and flat area, prone to be washed over during storm surges. In the foreground an extensive sand bank hindering the navigation channel (not visible). People have 'planted' wind barriers on the spit to trap sand. The main problem here is the dirty water from the Mangawhai River, which soils the sand and beaches, impairing their natural sand pumping ability. In the background the tall forest threatens the beaches and dunes.

Consents for extractions at the entrance to Mangawhai Harbour, 1994-2004: Sea Tow Ltd - 25,000 m3/yr and M P Wilkinson - 25,000 m3/yr

The mining company proposes to skim the surface of the sea bottom, spreading its impact over a large area. It obviously aims to skim the deep layer of new sand, only 10-30 cm thick. But in this layer, marine organisms have settled, and they have produced shells and they have trapped fine sand, thus diminishing the sand's quality. Skimming the surface of the sea bed would also disturb an unnecessarily large area, while retrieving sand of poor quality. It would be better in this respect to stay stationary and take the sand from deeper down, making potholes. But such dips in the bottom could cause damage to trawler fishing gear, while lasting for many years. A compromise could be set at 1-2m hole depth.
Estimating about 200 working days at sea per year, the daily quantity taken would amount to 350m3 (50 truck loads). When skimming the bottom to 0.3m, an area of 1000m2 is stirred daily (a quarter acre section). When dredging to 1.2m, only one quarter of that will be disturbed every day. When dredging to 0.1m, as proposed, an area of 3000m2 is stirred daily. Because the track is effectively 0.3-0.5m wide, a much larger area is affected, while 10km of track is made each day. This track is comparable to that drawn by the otter boards of a common fishing trawler. However, one such trawler makes over 100km of such tracks each fishing day, while being only one of the many fishing trawlers operating in this area. Yet when one dives down to the sand bottom, one seldom finds a track, which indicates that natural perturbation by storms and animals is high.

Undoubtedly the sand will be sieved as it is pumped up, and the dregs containing shell and other material, dumped overboard. Raining down on the bottom, they will remain on top like a suffocating blanket, possibly impairing the functioning of the sea soil beneath. But the larger marine organisms will also be returned to their habitat this way. By the digging action of large sea soil organisms, the soil is turned regularly, but it is not known how often and to what depth. Burrowing sea organisms like the tuatua clam live right in the breaker zone, being active enough to keep up with the constant churning of the sand. The deeper living tawera is also a rapid burrower. Because it is proposed to trailer-dredge shallow, narrow strips, blanketing of the sea bottom will not be a problem. The organisms living in the sea soil are used to being disturbed regularly by large storms.

As the sand is suctioned, a plume of silt will develop, both over the bottom and near the surface. It will pollute the sea water for some time, and promote plankton blooms from the released nutrients. Poisons such as heavy metals and hydrogen sulphide, locked up over time within the sea soil, are released again. Whereas river plumes happen only after large rains, this plume will be there most of the year, although changing location frequently. In late summer, when a thermocline has developed in mid water, effectively preventing the bottom-released nutrients from reaching the surface, the surface plume will exercise its fertilising effect most. However, its size is very small compared to that of rivers and it moves around constantly. Large storms also stir the bottom, releasing mud and nutrients, while mixing the water column.

There is some fear that the bottom fauna (there is no flora through lack of sunlight), could suffer permanently from the disturbance. But the bottom at 30-50m depth is stirred by storms once each year to once every ten years, to a soil depth of perhaps 0.2m, over very large areas at a time. Beyond that depth, the sea bottom is essentially static. From an ecological perspective, the soil fauna lives from what rains down from above, essentially dead plankton and higher organisms. Much like land soil, the sea soil decomposes it under the influence of oxygen, returning the resulting nutrients to the water. Most of the action is provided by bacteria and worms. Other organisms are found, either predating on these, or also living from the rained-down food source (clams). All of these are used to bottom disturbance, being capable of rebuilding their homes and numbers rapidly. For over 100 years already, the sea bottom in this area has been trawled for fish. The otter boards on trawler gear draw furrows in the sea bottom, and they operate to depths of over 200m. The furrow made by suctioning sand is of the same size as that marked by a trawler, but one trawlers makes about 8 times more of it in a day.

In some places the sea bed is known to have sensitive long-lived animals like sponges, bryozoa and coral-like organisms. These are attached to solid rock, which is not overlaid by sand. Dredging there would mortally damage these, but would not be very profitable. The Hauraki Gulf is essentially a deep valley, filled with sand. Bare rock can be found only near islands or rocky shores, and perhaps in some places off the continental shelf, where the sea bottom moves under the influence of gravity. By staying well away from any coast, such sensitive areas would effectively be protected. A condition of the resource consent is that if monitoring reveals bottom living communities of unexpected density and diversity, dredging is to be discontinued in that area.

The worst fear is that the mining company will operate near existing shores, where known quantities of quality sand are found. Such sand exists not only in very limited supplies, being essentially a non-renewable resource, but also belongs to the beach/dune system with which it relates dynamically through the balance of gravity (moving away) and long waves (moving toward the beach). Taking this sand will ultimately affect nearby beaches and dunes.
The beach and dunes have high amenity value, particularly those which are still clean and pristine. The Pakiri Beach, although being under threat from pollution (Pakiri River and Mangawhai River sediment) and inappropriate coastal land use (forests, dune planting, housing), is still a healthy beach, sought after by holiday makers and day trippers from Auckland and further. It is used for swimming, walking, surfing, fishing, shellfish gathering, horse riding, and more. By dredging in water deeper than 25m, there should be nothing to fear in this respect.

Because sand mining at these depths and this area has not been done before, provisions must be made to enable scientific monitoring and the gathering of information. Quantities of sand taken, its composition and place must be recorded. The company should have some flexibility in its operation, since it will encounter new technological problems. The plan provides for elaborate monitoring during the sand mining. Position and quantity of sand taken will be known, and sand samples analysed for their biotic communities.

It must also be understood that the licence to operate is not exclusive and that other operators are allowed to operate in the area in due time. In this manner an effective monopoly is prevented. Mining the sand is not a right but a privilege bestowed upon the miners, by the people of this country who speak also for generations yet unborn. Although the mining company expressly states that it is not seeking an exclusive licence on occupation, it is not clear whether that excludes others from mining there. By claiming such a large area, which includes all the takeable sand, the company effectively excludes others.

Since mining at these depths has not been undertaken in this country before, technological challenges will undoubtedly occur. The Company should have a reasonable degree of freedom to work around these challenges without incurring high legal costs and delays.
 
 

For further information, refer to the libraries of the Auckland and Northland Regional Councils.