Stop Central Otago Gold Mine
Help us to stop the development of large-scale industrial gold mining in beautiful Central Otago.
Cromwell, Otago
Santana Minerals (Australia) is planning to develop a series of open cast goldmines in the outstanding Dunstan Mountains, above Tarras, in the Bendigo Ophir area. This gold mine, if it goes ahead, will dramatically alter our natural landscape, has the potential for severe adverse effects to the environment, water supply, and will be a negative impact for our visitor experiences and will greatly impact the wine and agricultural industries of the area.
Mining is a very dirty industry!
We need your help! While Santana Minerals have made it on to the list of the Fast Track Approvals Act, they haven’t yet got consent. We need to fully understand the impacts of this hasty project, which if not planned properly has the potential for failure. If we can get more people making more noise opposing this development, then that’ll make it harder for them to get approval. It may even force this project back to a proper evaluation under the RMA which will include community and independent expert inputs.
The Fast Track Panel has an extremely short period to make a decision. There is a very real risk that they will seek no other advice than that "bought and paid for" by the people who are applying - hence we need independent expert voices now!
Any small donation you can give us will be truly appreciated and very helpful to the cause.
Use of funds
Awareness raising campaigns and experts who can help us unpack and critique the developer's application, which will be thousands of pages of technical evidence covering everything from impacts to water, air, noise, the economy and more.
Other page links
Latest update
Mine's fast-track bid must be rejected: Ngāi Tahu 16 April 2026
Santana's failure to meet treaty obligations means its fast-track application to mine gold at Bendigo must be rejected, Ngāi Tahu says.
A submission by a Ngāi Tahu legal team to the deliberating fast-track panel said Santana’s application was ‘‘inconsistent’’ with obligations under the Ngāi Tahu Treaty Settlement Act.
The inconsistency ‘‘prevents consent being granted’’, the submission said.
Santana had failed to consult competently on its proposal with Kā Rūnaka, a collective of four Ngāi Tahu rūnaka comprising Te Rūnanga o Moeraki, Kāti Huirapa Rūnaka ki Puketeraki, Te Rūnanga o Ōtākou and Hokonui Rūnanga.
Read the full article in this morning's ODT, or online at: https://www.odt.co.nz/regions/central-otago/mines-fast-track-bid-must-be-rejected-ng%C4%81i-tahu
Latest donations
That's what we reckon too, Simon! Thank you very much for joining in and supporting our efforts - we're really grateful.
Awesome Jilly - thank you for entrusting us with your donation - we will spend it wisely.
Kia ora Cathy, thanks heaps! And welcome to the team of thousands who have supported us to oppose this unwelcome proposal.
Wow! Thank you for entrusting us with such a generous donation. As with all the donations to this page, these funds will go directly to compensating our experts, who we've engaged to help bring intellectual heft to our concerns. Thank you so much.
Dear GD, we are chuffed that you chose to support our efforts - thank you.
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