Some Otago residents are asking how they can mobilise against a giant gold mine, poised for the fast-track bill and potentially set to start reshaping their backyard as early as February.
Australian company Santana Minerals intended to plumb the hills between Bendigo and Ophir for a $4.4 billion gold deposit, and said it would be filing for consent imminently.
A community meeting in Cromwell on Tuesday night, organised by advocacy group Sustainable Tarras, drew more than 120 residents ranging from curious to staunchly opposed.
Dunedin resident Jonathan West was in the latter category, questioning how locals had any chance against the company’s agenda.
“The community are being asked to trust these guys with the future, but they’re not sharing things. And what we’re being told is you can’t contribute to the [consent] process, and you certainly can’t win, unless you have experts … so the process is a stitch-up, that’s being rammed through,” he said.
Sustainable Tarras 