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Taharoa
Taharoa (Māori: Tahaaroa or Tahāroa) is a small village on the west coast of the North Island of New Zealand, to the southwest of Kawhia Harbour and overlooking Lake Taharoa.
The New Zealand Ministry for Culture and Heritage gives a translation of "long coast" for Tahāroa however traditional histories state that the extended name is “Te Tahaaroa a Ruaputahanga” or the “long calabash of Ruaputahanga”.
It was at times the temporary home of the great Te Rauparaha used mainly as a battle ground on the vast expanses of sand dunes evident by the number of finds over the years, by 1822 they were being forced out of their land by stronger northern tribes. Te Rauparaha then began a fighting retreat or migration southwards, one which ended with them controlling a small part of the North Island and particularly Kapiti Island, which became the tribal stronghold.
Taharoa has two marae: Āruka Marae and Tahaaroa meeting house, and Te Kōraha Marae and Te Ōhākī meeting house. Both are affiliated with the Waikato Tainui hapū of Ngāti Mahuta ki te Hauāuru and Ngāti Rangitaka.
The main industrial activity is iron sand mining, run by New Zealand Steel, which began in 1972 was exporting about 1.4 Mt (1,500,000 short tons) a year, mainly to Japan, with small quantities to South Korea and China. A 1993 study put reserves at 205 Mt of high concentrate and 360 Mt of lower grade sand. An $80m investment in 2014 boosted potential exports to 4 Mt a year.
In 2000 mining moved 2 km (1.2 mi) north, after the southern area was worked out. The roadway used for the move is now an airstrip. Sand from the lake is dug by a 250 tonne cutter suction dredge, a 450 tonne floating Trommel screen removes particles larger than 2.5 mm (0.098 in), a 1,000 tonne floating concentrator removes lighter material and the denser sand is magnetically separated.
1,375 tonnes an hour of sand was piped 2.5 km (1.6 mi) to an offshore mono-buoy, which was extended a further 500m in 2012, replaced in 2017 and is 17 m (56 ft) wide and weighs 250 tons. The previous buoy was 11 m (36 ft) wide and weighed 185 tons. The three bulk carriers used to transport the sand, Taharoa Destiny, Taharoa Providence and Taharoa Eos, require a pilot to berth at the buoy and also a support boat to move ropes and pipes.
The mine employs about 150 workers, though only 108 were recorded as working in the whole Taharoa area in the 2013 census. To house its workers, NZ Steel built 65 houses, a hall, Kōhanga Reo, school, shop, and fire and ambulance facilities in the village.
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Taharoa
Taharoa (Māori: Tahaaroa or Tahāroa) is a small village on the west coast of the North Island of New Zealand, to the southwest of Kawhia Harbour and overlooking Lake Taharoa.
The New Zealand Ministry for Culture and Heritage gives a translation of "long coast" for Tahāroa however traditional histories state that the extended name is “Te Tahaaroa a Ruaputahanga” or the “long calabash of Ruaputahanga”.
It was at times the temporary home of the great Te Rauparaha used mainly as a battle ground on the vast expanses of sand dunes evident by the number of finds over the years, by 1822 they were being forced out of their land by stronger northern tribes. Te Rauparaha then began a fighting retreat or migration southwards, one which ended with them controlling a small part of the North Island and particularly Kapiti Island, which became the tribal stronghold.
Taharoa has two marae: Āruka Marae and Tahaaroa meeting house, and Te Kōraha Marae and Te Ōhākī meeting house. Both are affiliated with the Waikato Tainui hapū of Ngāti Mahuta ki te Hauāuru and Ngāti Rangitaka.
The main industrial activity is iron sand mining, run by New Zealand Steel, which began in 1972 was exporting about 1.4 Mt (1,500,000 short tons) a year, mainly to Japan, with small quantities to South Korea and China. A 1993 study put reserves at 205 Mt of high concentrate and 360 Mt of lower grade sand. An $80m investment in 2014 boosted potential exports to 4 Mt a year.
In 2000 mining moved 2 km (1.2 mi) north, after the southern area was worked out. The roadway used for the move is now an airstrip. Sand from the lake is dug by a 250 tonne cutter suction dredge, a 450 tonne floating Trommel screen removes particles larger than 2.5 mm (0.098 in), a 1,000 tonne floating concentrator removes lighter material and the denser sand is magnetically separated.
1,375 tonnes an hour of sand was piped 2.5 km (1.6 mi) to an offshore mono-buoy, which was extended a further 500m in 2012, replaced in 2017 and is 17 m (56 ft) wide and weighs 250 tons. The previous buoy was 11 m (36 ft) wide and weighed 185 tons. The three bulk carriers used to transport the sand, Taharoa Destiny, Taharoa Providence and Taharoa Eos, require a pilot to berth at the buoy and also a support boat to move ropes and pipes.
The mine employs about 150 workers, though only 108 were recorded as working in the whole Taharoa area in the 2013 census. To house its workers, NZ Steel built 65 houses, a hall, Kōhanga Reo, school, shop, and fire and ambulance facilities in the village.