In 2017 the government announced there would be no new mines on conservation land.
Three years later, the discussion document is still being prepared, with the move parked for now.
Since 2017 Official Information Act documents obtained by Forest & Bird show mining activities have been approved across more than 150, 000 hectares of public conservation land.
Meanwhile, questions are being asked about the quality of checks and balances in place to ensure conservation land that has been mined is being returned to an acceptable standard.
Kathryn Ryan is joined by Debs Martin from Forest and Bird, West Coast conservationist Neil Silverwood and Westland District Mayor Bruce Smith who says mining is fundamental to the economy.
