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Trapping & Transforming CO2

Permanent CO2 Removal

Weora are committed to the decarbonisation of Aotearoa NZ.

Our country is fortunate to sit atop trillions of tonnes of magnesium rich ultramafic rocks, notably Dunite and Serpentine. When CO2 comes in contact with these MgO rocks, either naturally at surface or injected deep underground, they chemically react and form new minerals, permanently binding the CO2 in the rock.

This is a proven method already adopted overseas. We believe carbon storage has the potential to play a pivotal role in Aotearoa NZ’s transition to a sustainable, net-zero-carbon future – and it would be a tragedy not to utilise the resource we have right here in Aotearoa NZ.

Aotearoa NZ, like many countries, is struggling to meet the emissions targets that uphold international agreements to limit global warming and its impacts on climate change.

This is a world-wide concern, and Aotearoa NZ has additional interests outside of its own borders, given its role and influence in the Pacific; several small island nations are already being severely threatened by sea-level rise and adverse weather events.

The problem of climate change is now well known and documented with the Climate Action Tracker listing New Zealand’s efforts to curb emissions as, overall, “highly insufficient”.

Weora, alongside our sibling company, we are working with Australasian universities, commercial interests, Iwi and government as we develop our approach to utilising Dunite and Serpentine rocks as part of Aotearoa NZ and Australia’s decarbonisation strategy.

We need urgent new responses and actions to address the enormity of the climate change problem.

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Strategy

With five Mineral Permit applications across Aotearoa NZ, all located in close proximity to large CO2 polluters and have large deposits of above ground and sub-surface ultramafic rocks, notably Dunite, Weora plan to either:

  • inject CO2 deep underground (in-situ) or
  • quarry, crush and mix with CO2 (ex-situ) to form stable carbonate material suitable for industrial material manufacturing such as CO2 neutral cement, plasterboards and other construction materials.

This process is today naturally occurring wherever these ultramafic rocks are exposed  at Green Hills, and West Dome, Southland,  Fiordland National Park Red Hills and the Dun Mountain complex near Nelson.

There is enough storage capacity beneath our feet for many, many lifetimes.

Carbon Sequestration

There are many approaches to carbon sequestration, each with variable storage times and storage capacities. These include biomass, tree planting, injecting the CO2 into depleted petroleum fields and deep former mining voids.

Our metamorphosing process and permanent removal  is the only known scalable option that can make a material lowering of Aotearoa NZ CO2 emissions. It is the gold standard of carbon sequestration.

Why Ultramafic rocks, notably Dunite?

New Zealand’s Dunite rocks were, first identified in 1859 by a German geologist at Dun Mountain in the Nelson District.  The mountain was a dun colour and largely devoid of vegetation due to its high Magnesium and Iron content. They were subsequently named Dunite rocks and Aotearoa NZ has one of the world’s largest Dunite deposits. These magnesium-rich rocks readily metamorphose when in contact with CO2 into a carbonate form.

We are in discussions with carbon-emitters situated nearby to our permit sites about potential CO2 capture at source. These include smelters, coal- and gas-fired power stations and others. Our main activity will be initially centred around Greenhills, near Bluff, at the southern tip of the South Island. Its proximity to a large aluminium smelter, fertiliser works and other high-emission operations, and adjacent to the large deep water Bluff Port.

Bluff is the ideal location to be the Southern Hemisphere major CO2 receiving and storage hub.