The Australian mining company says it is disappointed by Sir Ian’s decision, but that the offer to visit remains open.
In an opinion piece published in the Otago Daily Times yesterday, Santana Minerals chief executive Damian Spring took aim at critics Sir Ian and Sir Sam Neill, labelling the pair "two highly vocal knights of the realm".
Both had been invited to visit the project site for the proposed mine, Mr Spring wrote.
"One has quietly ignored us (or our email is in his spam folder), while the other is yet to confirm dates."
But Sir Ian yesterday said he was "totally blindsided" by the piece, saying he had accepted the invitation the day after receiving it and the date was confirmed the same day it was finalised by Santana.
He shared emails with the ODT that showed as much - the visit would have been today.
Mr Spring had spread "critical misinformation" and "deliberately left out the fact that I had accepted the invitation the day after I received it", Sir Ian said.
"I consider today’s direct reference to me in the context that Damian placed it in as a complete breach of the good faith in which I agreed to come and visit the site and am now cancelling the visit," he wrote in an email to Santana yesterday.
Sir Ian believed the opinion piece characterised him as "elitist", "loud-mouthed" and "ill-informed".
He objected to being "lumped into the elites", he said.
He had not had any doubts about the visit, having already rearranged his week and organised travel to and from the project site.
"I don’t even know how I could face somebody who put out false information about the visit.
"I can’t even think of being in the same room as somebody who has done that."
Mr Spring said Sir Ian accepted the company’s invitation "in principle" and, following his return from overseas, they worked through scheduling with his office.
"We are disappointed, as the invitation was made in good faith and we believe a site visit is the best way to have a constructive, informed discussion.
"We respect his decision, and the offer to visit remains open."
At the time of writing and submitting the opinion piece, a visit date had not yet been confirmed, Mr Spring said.
A proposed time was then confirmed several hours after the opinion piece had already been submitted.
Once timing was confirmed, arrangements were continued directly, he said.
"Our focus remains on open, direct engagement and providing access to the full facts about the project."
The stoush comes as Santana Minerals continues to ramp up funding for its planned mine.
The company announced to the stock market yesterday it had received "firm commitments from institutional and sophisticated investors" to raise $A130m (NZ$152m) via a share purchase plan.
The funds raised would be used to accelerate the development of the Bendigo-Ophir gold project in preparation for a final investment decision, further exploration and drilling, and to start early infrastructure civil works.
Mr Spring said this was a "strong show of support for Santana" and essentially filled the equity component of funding for the project.
Discussions on the remaining debt funding were advancing well, he said.
"The funds raised will enable us to accelerate our pathway to production by enabling early works and major equipment deposits to enable an immediate start on receipt of our final resource consents, which are due at the end of October 2026."
