Harliwich

The Harliwich open cut coal mine is located near the town of Roxburgh in Central Otago Region on the South Island of New Zealand. It is owned by the Harliwich Carrying Company, a family company, formed in 1914.

Harliwich Mine Produces 4,000 Tonnes of Lignite Coal a Year
The Harliwich open cut coal mine, that has a production capacity of 4,000 tonnes a year, has an in-ground resource of Lignite (brown coal), of around
248 million tonnes. In 2007, when the Harliwich mine faced the loss of some of its biggest industrial clients in Dunedin, its management turned its focus on marketing much of its coal production as humate. In recent years humate has become recognised as the most important ingredient available to ensure sustainability in agriculture.

Harliwich Coal Mine Produces Harlies Humate for Agriculture
Humate comprises prehistoric plant matter such as that naturally occurring in lignite, or brown coal, the mainstay of the Harliwich open cut coal mine. Lignite mined at the Harliwich mine is crushed into super-fine particles resembling the texture of talcum powder and sold as a soil enhancer known as, 'Harlies Humates,' a product certified for organic use by Biogro, New Zealand's foremost organic certification agency.
Lignite is created during the evolution process of coal formation, when, many millions of years ago, when dinosaurs walked the Earth, the massive animals ploughed through the swamp lands crushing beneath them, the abundant plant growth of the era. The resultant lignite, that has now become known by many as brown coal, is ideal for promoting the growth of today's plant roots, by giving them much needed fertiliser and minerals that are necessary as a source of energy as well as being highly beneficial for soil organisms. Humate is highly capable of retaining moisture in soils during periods of drought.

Harliwich Mine Built Humate Plant at Roxburgh in 2007
Harliwich management was encouraged to continue with its trialling of humate production which led to the company setting up a trial humate plant at Roxburgh in 2007, initially processing two tonnes of humate a day.

The process creating a soil enhancer from fossil fuel requires the construction of a processing plant capable of reducing the lignite particle size to a 300 micron powder. The powder is then separated with the use of a classifier unit that removes all oversized particles. The very fine particles of lignite makes it subsceptible to suspension as a humate in liquid for spray applications. The classifier provides a coarser grade found more suitable for bulk spreading when fertilising a property. Harliwich sells its product under its 'Harlies Humate' brand in one tonne bags certified for organic use.

Humates have been used to enhance soils in China, Australia and the United States for over 50 years. It has also been discovered that animals feeding on humate enhanced pasture are healthier than others not feeding on such lands and give increased yields of milk and meat.
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