- SUBSCRIBER: 'Not true' Santana has all land it needs
- EDITORIAL: Mining milestone or millstone
Minister for Resources Shane Jones made the announcement yesterday, which provides Santana and its wholly-owned subsidiary, Matakanui Gold Ltd, the full legal rights to extract and process gold from the Rise & Shine (RAS) deposit and adjacent deposits within the Bendigo-Ophir Gold Project area.
The permit was granted by New Zealand Petroleum and Minerals.
"This is a major milestone for the progression of a project that will deliver well-paid employment, infrastructure investment, and economic resilience in Central Otago," Mr Jones said.
"The proposed mine will directly employ 357 people and support an additional 500 jobs annually through indirect employment, with a strong focus on hiring locally. The average annual salary is expected to be $140,300, more than double the Central Otago average."
Mr Jones said the company forecasts it will pay an additional $800 million in taxes over the course of the project’s first 14 years.
"That will go towards meeting our future healthcare, education and infrastructure needs."
Santana Minerals chief executive Damian Spring said the granting of the mining permit was a landmark achievement for Santana and a strong vote of confidence in the quality and integrity of the Bendigo-Ophir Gold Project.
"It’s the direct result of years of geological and technical work carried out under the Crown Minerals Act framework.
"Coming in the same week that we lodged our Fast Track Approvals consent application, this milestone demonstrates the project’s regional and national significance."
It caps off a busy week for Santana and Mr Spring, after he confirmed on Monday Santana had formally lodged a fast-track application for the project.
"The project will deliver long-term benefits to Central Otago through the creation of hundreds of jobs, new training and supply-chain opportunities, and substantial economic returns to the Crown and local community through royalties and taxes.
"The support we have received from both the New Zealand authorities and our stakeholders underlines the responsible, sustainable and community-aligned way in which Santana intends to bring the RAS deposit into production."
Under the Crown Minerals Act 1991 (CMA), a minerals permit grants the holder exclusive economic rights to specified minerals within a defined area.
However, a permit alone does not authorise mining activities to begin.
Any physical works such as earthworks, construction, or other on-site operations and their potential environmental effects, including possible impacts on land and waterways, are separately assessed and consented under the Resource Management Act (RMA).
The Mining Permit is the framework under which Matakanui Gold will be required to pay a royalty to the Crown being the higher of 2% NSR or 10% of accounting profits.
Based on the current price of gold, it was estimated the the Crown royalty would amount to $448 million over 14 years or $32 million per year on average, being the windfall rate of 10% of accounting profits.
