Coromandel Town Goldmine becoming a popular sustainable business

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Posted February 28, 2019
Council Matters , Environmental , Business

Coromandel Town’s community re-use centre The Goldmine, based at the Coromandel Refuse Transfer Station is growing as the community gets on board with repairing and upcycling.

The Goldmine opened its doors in December 2016 with an ethos that is based around looking after the community and the environment by diverting reusable goods away from landfill and into new homes at affordable prices. The Goldmine shares its love of reusing and repurposing everyday items into new and wonderful creations so the community is inspired to buy second hand before considering the need to buy new.

It was established and set up by the Coromandel Independent Living Trust (CILT) as a joint venture between Thames Coromandel District Council (TCDC) and Smart Environmental Limited (SEL).

As The Goldmine continues to grow and flourish, they are beginning to open up spaces they have with the local community and community groups as a shared workshop. The aim is to deliver meaningful educational programs aimed at youth and adults to acquire useful skills for the workplace that will teach them about the environment and the importance of acting as kaitiaki (guardians).

Goldmine coordinator Benjamin Rudolph says it is encouraging to see the community getting on board with the centre. “We have a wide variety of items, objects and antiques for the home, garden, shed, boat, caravan and every space in between that needs mending, tending or just a little decorating. Rumours have it, we have the best range of second-hand books for miles around,” Benjamin says.

The Goldmine, like many other community projects, operates on the generosity of volunteers to help realise its vision. They have a wide range of roles available. 
All the proceeds from sales at The Goldmine help fund one of their many programmes.

Photo credit: TCDC