Damian Spring: Santana Minerals CEO on securing a permit for a gold mine in central Otago

Australian mining company Santana is a crucial step closer to opening its controversial proposed gold mine near Cromwell. 

Officials have granted a 30-year mining permit for the Bendigo-Ophir Gold Project. 

It requires the company to return either 10% of profits or 2% of gold sales to the Crown – whichever is higher. 

Chief Executive Damian Spring told Mike Hosking they've now lodged a fast-track application for environmental and developments consents. 

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Fast track as in consenting is coming to the economic party.
It seems the Australian minus Santana have secured a city
a permit for the Central and Tigo gold projects, so
they're going to pay either ten percent of profits or
two percent of the gold sales to the government, which
is an eight hundred million dollars deal over time. Damien
Spring is the chief executive of Santana Minerals and as
well as Damian Morning, Good morning the process itself. Are

(00:22):
you happy with it in terms of as a country,
Are we getting our act together in getting on with
the business? Ah?

Speaker 2 (00:29):
Look, I think we're in our particular second start now
reached the part where we've got much more certainty certainly
what we had to do in order to formulate our application.
It's still diligent, it's still thorough, and it still pretty
much sits under the existing the previous legislations which still
exist the Resource Management Act another related act. So we're

(00:52):
getting there, but I certainly think we can do better.

Speaker 1 (00:55):
Good and will we once the laws are passed.

Speaker 2 (01:00):
Look, I think I think Simon Court is leading that
charge and the reforms to the resource management and I
understand there's going to be some indication of what that
might look like the side of Christmas and with a
view to get that into law next year.

Speaker 1 (01:14):
The pushback you deal with, is mining still a thing
in this country as far as you're concerned? For some.

Speaker 2 (01:20):
Oh, look, there's plenty of pushback, but I'm comfortable that
there's much more in terms of support. I've been mining
here continuously for twenty years, obviously educating and grew up here,
so mining is definitely part of our lives. We just
need to raise a profile even more, just educate people

(01:43):
about what we do, what we produce, and how we
look after our fantastic country we've got here.

Speaker 1 (01:50):
And do people believe that? Or I mean, what I'm
trying to find out are the people who push back
these days? Are they the people are always going to
push back? Or is there a story to be told
that you haven't told quite as well you could have.

Speaker 2 (02:02):
I think in most cases it's the sort of people
who will always push back and to be fair, and
a lot of those cases, they are our future neighbors, right,
so they've got a right to understand and get into
the detail. We have obviously tried to do that and
we will continue to do that and discuss with him

(02:24):
the deal.

Speaker 1 (02:25):
You have struck ten percent of the profits of two
percent of the gold sales. Is that the way of
the future? Is this how this thing should work?

Speaker 2 (02:33):
I love this particular royalty regime was brought in by
the government in twenty thirteen. I guess we're just one
of those lucky ones that have actually found something since
then that triggers that level of royalty regime. So it
is law. Any other new discovery on a permit issue

(02:53):
since then will pay a similar basis.

Speaker 1 (02:55):
Of PRIORTI Is it worth hunting for gold if you
haven't been given what's happened to the price of gold
and later not? Or is it a bigger picture thing
than that.

Speaker 2 (03:03):
It's going to be worth hunting for gold. The cent
our discovery here in Central Otago has sparked a interest
from a lot of companies moving into the area. That
was before this year, well before this year end end
of the gold price. So there's definitely price and the
fact that we've made this discovery.

Speaker 1 (03:22):
What do you make of the market at the moment?
I mean, is this here for good or is this
a moment.

Speaker 2 (03:29):
I guess reading some of the literature and research notes
at around there's been definitely a fundamental shift in where
gold sits in financial markets. There is definitely a flight
to safe havens such as gold, and I think we're
seeing that based on the research that's going to be
here for a while longer.

Speaker 1 (03:49):
Good stuff, Damien, Nice to talk to you, Damian Spring,
who's the chief executive at SATANA. For more from The
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