The announcement — made to the Australian (ASX) and New Zealand (NZSX) stock exchanges yesterday and headlined "Central Otago District Council endorses Bendigo-Ophir project" — goes on to reference a $1.25 million-a-year access deal between the council and Santana, announced yesterday.
The deal allows Santana to dig into two public roads owned by the council.
However, the deal only kicks in if the mine gets fast-track approval and the council has said it neither supports nor opposes the mine.
Asked if the council endorses the mine, Mayor Tamah Alley said: "No, in a nutshell."
"The council maintains we have not taken a position for or against the mine. This [the access deal] is a piece of the puzzle of the regulatory pathway that they [Santana] are going down to seek a fast-track consent, but council does not hold a position on it."
It was an "interesting" headline choice by Santana that was "potentially" misleading, she said.
"If the only thing that people saw was that announcement, they might think the council had come out and wholeheartedly endorsed the proposal and that is not the case."
In a council press notice about the access deal, the mayor stressed council neutrality on the mine’s go-ahead and chief executive Peter Kelly said the deal "does not predetermine whether the mine will proceed".
However, in a separate notice issued by Santana, Mr Spring said the access deal "raises the credibility, and durability, of any eventual decision".
It provided "durable clarity around roading and access arrangements, and establishes a transparent framework for long-term community benefit", he said.
Environmental Defence Society (EDS) chief executive Gary Taylor disagreed with Mr Spring’s statement and said his charity was "actively exploring legal sanctions" regarding the access deal.
Mr Taylor said the council appeared to have been "unduly influenced" by Santana interests and "prioritised them over the interests of its wider community".
"By this decision, council has indicated bias in favour of the mining company with respect to further road closure decisions."
Community group Sustainable Tarras also objected to the access deal.
A spokesperson said the council had "given up an asset for a nickel and a dime and taken on a long-term massive liability for our environment and economy.
"The offer of a relatively small amount of cash in return for access will influence public opinion when there is public consultation on the issue of road stoppage, which there should be under law."
Ms Alley said the financial amount agreed with Santana was related to the road issue and "not related to the liability if the mine goes ahead or not".
Discussions with Santana had been held in private because they were "commercially sensitive", but had followed "due process".
People would have opinions about whether the dollars agreed was a little or a lot, she said, but it equated to a 2% rates rise and "was a hard-fought deal that involved negotiations over a long period".
"This council’s position on the potential access arrangement has always been that if the mine is consented, and requires the land the public own, it would be right that the public get something in exchange, recognising that the process under way is not this council’s process, which makes it incredibly difficult."
ASX said it could not comment on whether it was engaging with Santana about the concern over its announcement’s headline.
Santana was asked for comment but did not respond by deadline.
