WELLINGTON, June 16 (Xinhua) -- An application for a coal mine on public conservation land in New Zealand's South Island has been declined, an official said on Saturday.

Minister of Conservation Eugenie Sage said that Rangitira Developments Ltd had applied for an access arrangement under the Crown Minerals Act to mine 12 hectares of public conservation land in the Mt Rochfort Conservation Area, near Te Kuha, as part of a large opencast coal mine.

Most of land which the company seeks to mine is within the Westport Water Conservation Reserve vested in, and managed by, the Buller District Council. The council is the decision-maker for mining access to that area, Sage said in a statement.

The government declined the application because it was not considered that the mine's potential economic benefits were large enough to outweigh the irreparable damage to an area with very high, unique and nationally significant conservation values, she said.

"The area has experienced almost no human disturbance. Mining it would cause damage that is irreversible," the minister added.