A gold mine, an Australian mining giant faces strong opposition 

Australian company Santana Minerals has applied for fast-track approval to build an open cast mine in the Dunstan mountain range, an hour’s drive east of Queenstown, after discovering what it calls the largest single gold deposit in New Zealand in more than four decades. 

According to the documents submitted to the fast-track panel, Santana will build four open mine pits. The largest, Rise and Shine Open Pit will be one kilometre long, 800 metres wide and 200 metres deep. There will also be three shallower pits, a processing plant that is one kilometre long and 120 metres wide, and a tailing storage facility to store mineral waste.

It says the project will employ hundreds of people and be worth $6 billion in revenue and more than $1b in taxes and royalties for New Zealand.The fast-track panel is set to decide by late October and, if approved, it will be the first new mine to get the go-ahead under the accelerated process.

However, Opponents fear it will destroy threatened plants, scar the unique landscape and pollute the land and water. They say New Zealand will not get all the economic benefits because Santana is an Australian company, and they warn it will open the door to more mining in the region.