Story: Coal and coal mining
As this graph reveals, much of the growth in coal production in the years since 1989 has been on the West Coast. In the early 1990s, production from that area was less than 1 million tonnes, but by 2004 it was over 2.5 million, and the area was producing more than the Waikato fields. Only after 2000 did Waikato production begin to increase, while the Otago and Southland fields showed little growth.
Source: Annual Parliamentary reports: Mines Department; Ministry of Energy; and Crown Minerals, Ministry of Economic Development.
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Te Ara - The Encyclopedia of New Zealand
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