The owners of the Bluff smelter issued a swift contradiction to this morning’s claim by its supplier, Meridian Energy, of an impasse over contract negotiations, saying it believes “a commercial agreement can be reached” on electricity supply to the smelter. “Our electricity contract negotiations with Meridian have progressed more in the past two weeks than in the previous nine months,” …

Would-be coking coal miner Bathurst Resources has gained tentative approval from the Environment Court to go ahead with its Escarpment Mine project on the West Coast’s Denniston Plateau, though environmental groups say they will continue to fight the plan. The decision is a rare piece of good news for Bathurst, whose chairman last year bemoaned New Zealand’s resource consent appeals …

Meridian Energy says it is “unlikely” to reach a new electricity supply agreement with its largest customer, the Tiwai Point aluminium smelter, which consumes around one-seventh of New Zealand’s electricity. The bombshell disclosure has the capacity to upset the government’s plans to partially privatise state-owned electricity company MightyRiverPower. Offer documents are due for release in about a fortnight, with listing …