11-06-2025
‘Worrying issues' about proposed goldmine raised
Sustainable Tarras is holding public meetings in Dunedin and Wānaka next week to address "numerous very worrying issues" about a fast-track application for a goldmine in Central Otago.
Sustainable Tarras chairwoman Suze Keith said in a statement there was a "broad spectrum of issues" the community was very concerned about in relation to Santana Minerals' Bendigo-Ophir gold project near Tarras.
"From the information released so far, there are numerous very worrying issues," she said.
"These include the size and scale of the mine right in the heart of an outstanding natural landscape, the massive tailings dam which will hold 10,000 Olympic swimming pools of toxic waste, and the extensive use and storage of large quantities of cyanide just upstream of the Clutha River. And that's just the tip of the iceberg."
The meetings would involve a presentation and panel discussion and had been organised by a range of groups of volunteers including Sustainable Tarras, Central Otago Lakes Forest & Bird and Central Otago Environmental Society.
On its website, Santana Minerals said it had discovered the most significant single gold deposit in New Zealand in over four decades is at the Bendigo-Ophir site.
"We are now focused on developing the project into an environmentally responsible, economically sustainable mining project bringing inter-generational employment and prosperity to the region." — APL
