 A previous mine existed at Waipipi in South Taranaki.A proposal by Iron Ore NZ Ltd. for further ironsand mining off the coast of Taranaki faced resistance from some Māori and others in 2005 in the wake of the New Zealand foreshore and seabed controversy.A large quantity of it is shipped to China and Japan, but by 2011 New Zealand's sole manufacturing plant was producing 650,000 metric tons of steel and iron per year.