Otaua, Waikato

rdf:langString Otaua, Waikato

rdf:langString Otaua is a rural settlement in the Waikato District and Waikato region of New Zealand's North Island. It is located south of Waiuku and west of Aka Aka, on the northern side of the Waikato River. The Otaua area includes the Waikato North Head on the northern side of the Waikato River mouth, opposite Port Waikato to the south. The Waikato North Head ironsand mine, just south of the settlement, produces up to 1.2 million tonnes of ironsand a year, for use in the New Zealand Steel mill at Glenbrook. The deposit is estimated to contain more than 150 million tonnes in total. The ironsand is processed on-site with a series of separation processes with river water, before the slurry is pumped to the Glenbrook mill through an 18-kilometre underground pipe. The name Otaua is a contraction of Te Takanga-o-Tauaiwi, a reference to the falling of Tauaiwi, a descendant of Hotonui of the Tainui waka. Tauiwi was killed at Otaua by Tāmaki Māori and his body fell into a disused pit.