Santana Minerals commits to sharing findings of impact studies for Cromwell gold mine

In response to demands from concerned locals for the release of new information as it becomes available, the company behind a planned open pit gold mine in the hills above Cromwell is promising to deliver.

In a statement Wednesday morning Santana Minerals commits to sharing "key facts" from impact studies underway at drop in sessions scheduled to take place regularly in Cromwell and Tarras through until December.

Company chief executive Damian Spring says the impact studies started in 2018 and are aimed at ensuring its Bendigo-Ophir gold mine is "a world-class, environmentally responsible and economically sustainable" project.

It is one of several controversial projects in inland Otago announced on Sunday as being included in the government's Fast-track Approvals Bill.

However the speed of the consenting process is unsettling for some, with a Tarras residents group and a wine industry representative group both having unsuccessfully lobbied for the government to apply the brakes in this case.

Spokesperson for Sustainable Tarras Rob van der Mark attended one of the first public drop-in sessions on the mine held at the end of September, telling Crux afterwards he thought the information on offer failed to further his understanding of what was being proposed in the hills above his home.

This week's statement from Santana Energy appears to be an attempt by the company to offer some assurances to concerned locals.

“The studies support the assessment of effects, guiding design decisions and efforts to avoid, mitigate and offset any environmental effects of the project. We will share key facts from these studies at our drop-in sessions as they are finalised within the scope of the overall project,” Mr Spring says in it.

“Studies into a vast range of factors will give the community and regulators, a complete picture of the social impact, air quality, traffic, noise, visual impact, waterway ecology, cultural values, ecology, heritage, and rehabilitation and what our pathway to post-mining closure will look like."

The mine, pitched as being able to generate $4.4 billion of revenue over a 10 year lifespan, would be located on Thompson Gorge Road in the Rise and Shine Valley.

At early community engagement sessions access routes to the site have been raised as cause for concern, alongside water, earthquake risks, energy demand, and the eventual closure of the mine, the statement says.

"Access route options to the mine site are being reviewed, and the Santana team will start conversations with affected stakeholders in the coming weeks.

"Ensuring safety in the event of an earthquake is also a critical factor in the project's design. The tailings storage facility, where material from the gold process plant is stored, is being designed to meet the highest NZ Dam Safety Guidelines and safely contain tailings when subjected to potential future extreme earthquakes."

Mr Spring says the storage facility is being designed to withstand a one-in-10,000-year earthquake and will be independently peer reviewed as part of the consent process.

"It’s worth noting, an AF8 event is a one-in-300-year event,” he says.

Meanwhile, Santana Minerals is engaging with electricity suppliers and distribution companies to ensure it can take the power it needs from the Otago energy grid without adversely affecting supply.

"Our project potentially provides the momentum to resolve resilience issues in the network," the statement says.

It also talks about rehabilitation of the site post-mining, saying the topic is "front of mind during the design phase and starts on day one of the operation with careful removal and storage of soils".

"As final landforms are completed, those soils are spread over the surface and appropriate vegetation planted to control initial erosion. Mine rehabilitation and closure plans are being developed and will be included in the consent application. Financial bonds will be lodged to ensure rehabilitation and closure requirements are met."

Mr Spring says the studies underway will inform the company's consent application up until lodgement and beyond.

At a Cromwell Community Board meeting in September, Mr Spring said Santana Minerals was on track to submit a resource consent application in February and would be seeking approval to mine at the site for 25 years.

Information on times and locations for Santana Minerals community drop-in sessions in Cromwell and Tarras can be found here: https://www.santanaminerals.com/community

Mining company fronting drop-in sessions but locals demand more details

Main image: A large scale mining operation at Bendigo in the hills above Cromwell in Central Otago is on the government's list of projects included in the Fast-Track Approvals Bill for a streamline consent pathway.