Gold miner to hold Cromwell and Tarras community consultations

Community consultations around plans to mine New Zealand’s biggest gold discovery in four decades an hour east of Queenstown continue on Monday, with more due in the New Year.

Santana Minerals’ Bendigo-Ophir Gold project will establish and operate an open pit and underground gold mine on Bendigo and Ardgour Stations, just 20 minutes from Cromwell. 

Meetings will take place at the Tarras Community Hall at 6pm and 15a Chardonnay Street, Cromwell, at 12pm.

“We are continuing to talk to the community, through drop-in sessions and face to face conversations, and we will continue to hold drop-in sessions in the new year prior to and following our consent application and in fact throughout the proposed mining operation,” a company spokesperson said.

“We are currently gathering information including the economic impacts of the project and carrying out studies that will inform the effects management strategy for the project. 

“This information will be included in our resource consent application that we will be submitting through the fast-track process next year.”

The location of the Rise and Shine deposit ( Photo / Santana Minerals)

The project is located on private free-hold farm land with agreements in place to mine. 

Over its nine-year mining life the project I estimated to be able to  dig up $5 Billion of gold, with the first mined-gold expected in 2026. 

The gold deposit, found in the Rise and Shine Valley, has a high-grade gold core of more than  150m wide and up to 40m thick.

It is one of 15 Otago-based projects scheduled for inclusion in the Government’s Fast Track Approvals Bill, which will usher projects through the Resource Consent process in a six-month time-frame.