PĀKIRI/MANGAWHAIThe long and costly battle to stop sand mining off Pākiri and Mangawhai has been won. In a shock decision last Thursday, aggregate firm McCallum Brothers (MBL) abandoned its legal challenge to carry on dredging. The company said the decision followed an agreement with one of many mining opponents, Manuhiri Kaitiaki Charitable Trust (Ngati Mānuhiri). “MBL has agreed to surrender its temporary consent permitting sand extraction at Pākiri, abandon its High Court appeals pursuant to the Environment Court decisions of 2024 and settle the costs awarded in favour of Ngāti Manuhiri b...