Christie, A.B.; Brathwaite, R.L.; Brown, L.J.; Burrows, M.W. 1992 Sheet QM301 Te Kuiti : geological resource map of New Zealand 1:250 000. Lower Hutt: Institute of Geological & Nuclear Sciences. Institute of Geological & Nuclear Sciences science report 92/16. 73 p.
Abstract: Ironsand, limestone, coal and aggregate are the most important resources currently extracted in the Sheet QM301 Te Kuiti area. Additional commodities worked include sand, clay, pumice and serpentinite. Potential for some other commodities is limited by poor accessibility or distance to markets. Quaternary beach and dune deposits of titanomagnetite ironsand are present along the west coast and have been prospected in the Waikorea-Waimai, Raglan North Head, Aotea, Kawhia, Taharoa, Harihari, Marakopa, Mokau, and Awakino areas. These deposits contain a titanomagnetite concentrate resource of 224 million tonnes (Mt) indicated and 278 Mt inferred at 56%Fe. Taharoa is the only deposit currently being worked with about 1.4 Mt of titanomagnetite concentrate recovered annually and exported for blending in iron ore smelting. Extensive surface concentrations of ironsand are present offshore. Aggregate sources are relatively abundant within the QM301 area, however there is a lack of first-class roadmaking aggregate. The main rock types quarried are greywacke, andesite, basalt, and limestone. Coarse sand and gravel are extracted from the Waikato lowland for roading subgrade and building aggregate. Large deposits of limestone occur, and high purity stone from several quarries is an important source of calcium carbonate for various industrial uses. About 400 000 tonnes (t) of limestone are quarried annually and used for industry, agriculture and road metal. Limited quantities of pumice and pumice silt are extracted for use as fillers, abrasives, and cleaners. Small quantities of serpentinite for agricultural use are mined from Wairere. Clay from Ngaruawahia is used for making tiles and pipes. Phosphatic concretions are scattered over large areas of intertidal mudflats in the Waitemata arm of Raglan Harbour. The Te Kuiti sheet includes most of the Waikato and Taranaki coal regions. Coal production began in 1884 (Mokau Coalfield) and was almost entirely from underground mines until large-scale opencast mining began in the 1940s. More than 150 mines have operated in the Te Kuiti Sheet area, producing about 40 Mt of coal. The eleven mines currently operating produced about 716 000 t in 1990. More than 700 Mt of coal-in-ground resources are present. Exploration for for oil and gas has been undertaken both onshore (particularly in the Hamilton lowlands during the early 1960s) without success, and offshore in the northern Taranaki Basin, where there are several active leases. Kora-1 successfully tested oil in 1987. A few hot springs occur within the Te Kuiti Sheet and most are used for recreational bathing. Abundant groundwater is contained in the Hamilton lowlands, however most water used for domestic consumption within the sheet area is obtained from rivers and streams.
