Damian Spring: Santana Minerals Chief Executive on the discovery of a significant gold mine in Otago

There's high hopes from Santana Minerals following the revelation of unearthed gold in Central Otago.

The company's discovery on the privately owned Bendigo Station land has been dubbed one of New Zealand's most significant in 40 years - with a $4.4 billion dollar lifetime export value.

Santana Minerals Chief Executive Damian Spring is hopeful an investment decision will be made by the new year.

"We're on track to submit our application under the RMA by the end of this year, the Fast-Track Approvals Bill would have passed by then - and it suits what we're aiming to do."

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Di's gold in them DA held an Ozzie mining company
reckons it's found one of the most significant gold discoveries
in New Zealand in the last forty years. This is
Santana Minerals. They found gold deposits all across Bendigo Station
in central Otago. Damien Spring is the chief executive. Hey, Damien,
Hi there, how big is it?

Speaker 2 (00:18):
It's big? How about a hundred and ten thousand, one
hundred and ten thousand ounces for ten years, if not more.

Speaker 1 (00:25):
So in the scale of gold in this country? What
comes close to that? Like, where are we sitting in
the scale?

Speaker 2 (00:31):
Hi? Look, mccras's forecasts produced I think one hundred and
forty thousand ounces that's at their mind, just north of Dunedin,
and I think why he gold are probably approaching some
of the number of about one hundred thousand.

Speaker 1 (00:44):
Yeah. So are you guys doing a capital raise?

Speaker 2 (00:46):
Is that?

Speaker 1 (00:46):
What's up?

Speaker 2 (00:48):
No? No, we're just we're just doing what we do
doing and that's that's in the project for our shareholders
and our community.

Speaker 1 (00:55):
So you got enough money to be able to do
the mining.

Speaker 2 (00:59):
Ah? Yeah. We actually raised thirty odd million dollars back
in May and that will take us through to a
final investment decision, hopefully sometime in the new year.

Speaker 1 (01:10):
I'm just trying to find a way in for myself here, Damien,
Have you done? Have you done it? Are you guys
going to be going for the fast track consenting?

Speaker 2 (01:18):
Look, we're on track to some of our application under
the RMA by the end of this year. If the
Fast Track Approvals Bill is passed by then and it
suits what we're aiming to do, then certainly we'll look
at it.

Speaker 1 (01:30):
And when do you reckon you could get started? What's
the soonest?

Speaker 2 (01:34):
Well, you'd have to take the lead from the fast
Track Bill, and if they do put it in before
the end of the year, I believe the decision would
be come back within six months, So we'd make a
decision halfway through next year on that basis, Let's see
what happens, Damian.

Speaker 1 (01:52):
Obviously there are going to be places around the country
that are going to get a lot more attract a
lot more protests than others. I would imagine that given
that yoursers on a on privately owned land, it won't
be too much of a headache, will it.

Speaker 2 (02:04):
Oh, I'm not sure. Which we just have to deal
with what's in front of us? Yep, it's on private land.
I guess the community wants to know what our proposal
is all about, and we've been spending the last a
couple of months actually getting that engagement underway, and we've
still got a lot of work to do between now
and the end of the year.

Speaker 1 (02:24):
Damien, good stuff, good luck with it. Damien Spring, the
chief executive at Santana Minerals. For more from Heather Duplasy
Alan Drive, listen live to news talks. It'd be from
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