The Bendigo mine supporters: Inside their threats of violence, sabotage, bombs and even death

A Facebook page that appears to encourage, or condone, violence and death threats against people who oppose the planned $4.5 billion Bendigo Mine is being investigated by police.

The page takes social media toxicity to a new level. Apart from general vitriol against “lefties, greenies, liberals, and elites” the page has featured personal abuse against key opponents of the mine including artist Sir Graeme Sydney and actor Sir Sam Neill.

Here’s the Santana Mine Supporters own page rules:

(** Doxing or doxxing is the act of publicly providing personally identifiable information about an individual or organisation, usually via the Internet and without their consent.)

Since Crux started to ask questions about the page, and at least two formal complaints have been lodged with NZ police, it appears some changes are being made to the content that has been published for the past three weeks.

Here’s a selection of what’s been posted by Mine Supporters page followers.

• Reference to an apparent death threat.

• “ST” is the main mine opposition group - Sustainable Tarras. “Language reasonable - but not the content (death).”

• A threat to sabotage the Sustainable Tarras website and Facebook content

• A lot of posts are critical of Māori ….

• “I will run them down - and torch their vehicle.”

• A bulldozer/property threat

• Suggestions for a bomb threat to disrupt a mine opposition fund raising lunch involving Graeme Sydney and Sam Neill.

• Many posts feature searches for the home addresses of key mine opponents.

• Plenty of abuse …

• Shovel threat ….

• Many of the Mine Supporters page members appear to be small scale Santana shareholders hoping for a big win on the stock exchange.

Many of the posts are too graphic to publish, but we asked Santana Minerals if they approved of the Mine Supporters page.

This was their support shortly after the page was published.

• Facebook - Santana Mine Supporters page - February 6.

Here’s Santana Minerals reply today (February 16.):

“Thank you for offering the right to reply. The group you’re referencing is independent and not run, owned, or moderated by Santana, so it’s not something we can police or intervene in. Threats or abuse are out of line, always.

“What is relevant here is that more than 5,600 locals have now joined that page because they want jobs, investment and a future for the region. That groundswell of support is the real story, not trying to pin third-party comments on us. Isn’t that the story? The fact that half the town (if they are all local) are supportive?”

Santana Minerals Ltd. February 16, 2026.

The views of the Mine Supporters Facebook page moderator - and the local Mayor.

Crux contacted the moderator of the Mine Supporters page, Tom Woodward and asked if he found the threats and abuse on the page acceptable.

• Queenstown based Mine Supporters page moderator Tom Woodward - a screen grab from a social media video he made on the Cadia gold mine in New South Wales where a 2018 tailings dam collapse resulted in approximately 1.3 million cubic meters of tailings escaping, leading to a $155 million insurance settlement for the mine company and extensive environmental damage. Mr Woodward is a mine worker and also has made documentaries on the beauty and special nature of the South Island’s landscape.

“I don’t hide my name or go by an alias. When I set up Facebook 15 years ago I was studying Russian language and put my name in using the Cyrillic alphabet. I normally don’t use facebook and still like it. On my other social media my name is written in the Latin alphabet.

”I haven’t seen any hate speech, threats or racism. I think you are fabricating that as a low blow because you see that many members of the public are in support of the mine and you don’t want to stick to the debate.

”I am in support of the Bendigo mine because my family is likely to get pushed out of Queenstown due to unaffordability. We will have to move to Perth. I want to stay and if we had more going on like the mine I would be able to. It’s really sad that there is so little going on here for common people.”

Tom Woodward - Santana Mine Supporters page Moderator/Expert. February 16, 2026.

Crux also asked Central Otago mayor Tamah Alley for her views on the threats and abuse published by the Mine Supporters group.

• Central Otago District mayor Tamah Alley.

“I recognise there are strongly held and very different views on the proposed mine. And there probably isn’t a middle ground on this.

“You are either for or against, which is okay. But I would really like the debate to stay focused on the facts. And I think there is no place online or anywhere else for bullying, for threats or for what may constitute unlawful behaviour.”

On radio talk back this morning (February 16) Mine Supporters page administrator Bill Sanders denied that there had been any death threats on the page but he then added that “they would have been deleted.”