Tamah Alley said Mr Jones, who also told the Otago Daily Times Central Otago was "pregnant with mining potential", had possibly misrepresented what the region was, and what it entailed.
While the area was, indeed, largely empty, "that is part of the attraction and part of the reason why people come to experience what we have", Mrs Alley said.
"Largely empty is not available everywhere."
Mr Jones yesterday said he was "quite familiar with the Otago area" and would take up any invitation he received, subject to logistics.
"I respect the fact that she is the civic leader for that part of New Zealand, but I am the champion for every province of New Zealand — and I don’t think that I’m wrong.
"There’s about 12 million square miles [31 million square kilometres], and there’s maybe 250,000-odd people there.
"The arrival of some mining activity would be akin to a pimple on the size of Hulk Hogan."
Mr Jones described Central Otago as "largely empty", while criticising a celebrity-backed fundraiser to oppose Santana Minerals’ Bendigo-Ophir gold project.
Mrs Alley said Mr Jones had not acknowledged the "thriving industries" in Central Otago, which not only supported the local economy but GDP on a national scale.
"I’m not sure how much time the minister has spent here, but I would be delighted to show him around if he chose to visit."
From the maps she had seen, the region did appear to have mining potential.
"But just because it’s there doesn’t mean it needs to be mined.
"I think there is an opportunity cost, but there’s also a very delicate balance that needs to be weighed up for the people who are already living and thriving here."
The Central Otago District Council had not formed an opinion on the Bendigo-Ophir gold project as it had not had the opportunity to consult the community, Mrs Alley said.
"We know our community are split and that some people are really for it and some people are really against it."
Cromwell Community Board chairwoman Anna Harrison said Central Otago was bustling, vibrant and full of growing communities who valued open spaces.
She believed Mr Jones was thinking only of mountain ranges and had forgotten about fast-growing towns such as Cromwell, which was close to where the mine was proposed.
"When you start saying that we’re ... [pregnant] with mining potential, then there would be some anxiety about what other areas the minister would be looking at ... for that type of opportunity."
Cromwell was "pretty chocka" as it was and she questioned the effect the proposed mine would have on its already rapidly growing population.
"We have very few rental houses available, so it could put a real squeeze on us."
Mr Jones yesterday said he had no desire to say anything personally hurtful to civic leaders.
When it came to opponents of the proposed mine, Mr Jones said they were "pulling the ladder up after they’ve done well personally and denying other New Zealanders the opportunity to create a new industry in a largely vacant landscape".
He had been advised that Otago, like much of the South Island, had great mineral potential.
He also acknowledged large-scale mining could have a disruptive impact on the status quo.
The fast-track process meant people and independent decision-makers could generate their perspectives "aloof from the angst and the over-Hollywood dramatisation that we’ve seen".
There was a housing "crisis" in Otago, and generating more economic activity would incentivise and boost momentum, he said.
"I think you could put another 50,000, 60,000 people in Otago and you wouldn’t even know where they are.
"The place is that broad and capable of not only absorbing, but sustaining, a lot more people."
Given the amount of gold in the Bendigo area, Mr Jones said he had no doubt the proposed mine would sustain many generations of employees.
New Zealand’s economy was "like a quiver of arrows, and each arrow has to strike a target".
"And there’s a bullseye on the Otago — it’s gold."
