Does New Zealand have copper deposits?

Answer 1

New Zealand is pretty poor for mineral deposits other than coal (plenty but of low grade), and some off-shore oil and gas. There are a couple of gold miners producing 200 000 oz per year each. No copper ore working. Have lots of hydroelectricity, and refine Australian Bauxite into Aluminium.

Other minerals that do have economic import, include the Ironsands of both islands, and the thorium sands of the SI.

The iron sands of the NI are well known, and are exported for use in steel making. But there their main importance is in the quantity of titanium they contain, as this makes the iron melt somewhat sticky, and this adheres to the firebrick lining of the furnaces, thus prolonging their life. And taking a furnace down to replace the lining is a very expensive process. that is why NZ iron sand is used in preference to other plentiful supplies of this material right round the Pacific Rim of Fire.

The thorium sands may come into their own some day, as world supplies of uranium for reactors has a definite horizon. The world's nuclear power stations were mainly constructed to produce plutonium, of use in weapons.

Thorium reactors have no such output, hence the low interest in these reactors. So far.

Answer 2

Not by world standards. There are a couple of gold mines producing a few hundred thousand ounces of gold each year.

There is a plenitude of low-grade brown coals in Southland.

On the west Coast of both islands are large deposits of ironsand, and both deposits have interesting associate minerals such as titanium, and Thorium.