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There must be something in the water over at Santana. Because suddenly, the CEO is making out as if he’s the Panel, granting extensions of time. Whichever way you look at it, this is a TERRIBLE use of Fast-Track. In a moment of gobsmacking irony, Santana CEO Damien Spring says that Santana will actually IMPROVE the environment. Thank you everyone for your support and encouragement. It is felt - strongly - by all of us at Sustainable Tarras, and it is so appreciated. Read our statement about Minister Shane Jones' unacceptable attack on Steven Spielberg and Central Otago in the national media yesterday. We think behaviour like this should be called out for what it is: divisive, disrespectful and deeply hypocritical. How do we expect Santana will behave if this fast-track mine goes through? The crucial bond numbers Santana wants to keep secret from Central Otago ratepayers. If they’re reasonable, why redact them? Another fast-track suspension from Santana so that invited parties and the panel can wade through 600+ pages of information which should have been submitted in November 2025. So what does this mean? If you've not read it already, this is a must read. An article in today's Post by Gary Taylor. He shares his thoughts on the issues with half-baked fast-track applications - like Santana's. And Gary should know - he is CEO of EDS, one of the invited parties (along with Sustainable Tarras) to the fast-track process considering Santana's controversial fast-track application. BREAKING: Santana Pauses Fast Track for Second Time: now final decision will be next year. Steven Spielberg honours Sir Sam Neill with donation to Sustainable Tarras. You wouldn't read about it. Except, if you read NZ Media Council rulings, you would. Australian Miner Santana takes the ODT to the NZ Media Council over their coverage of a new anti-mining group concerned about tailings dams and other aspects of Santana's controversial mine. Santana's complaint was not upheld - they lost. In case you missed it in the ODT yesterday, Santana has been sprung for hiding negative data. Most of us were horrified by the videos showing the tailings dam disaster in South Africa last week. If you missed this, there's a link in the comments below. Luckily, nobody was killed by the dam burst. But the environmental impacts - including impacts to waterways and the surrounding environment - are still be assessed. As with other tailings dam failures, they are likely to be very bad. BREAKING - significant news from the controversial Santana fast-track application. The Panel has released Minute 46 raising serious concerns about timeframes given Santana's recent (very large) data dump. Huge amounts of new material introduced which the Panel says "should have been provided at the time of the initial application". This all puts significant pressure on the Panel, invited parties and the entire fast-track process. Kaitiakitanga. The responsibility to care for the natural world, for present and future generations. If you care about the risks (and the costs of dealing with them) that Santana’s controversial mine may foist on your grandchildren, read on. Earlier today the Panel chair confirmed that Santana's 34 day suspension period was over, and the clock is ticking once again. This means that the timeline gets adjusted. BREAKING: Australian miner Santana’s project risks wiping out a “Threatened - Nationally Critical” plant species which is already “on the brink of extinction”. This from a Dept of Conservation expert analysis of a report which Santana tried to hide from the fast-track panel and the public. Breaking news: mine tailings dam bursts causing large scale flooding, power outages and spread of toxic tailings. Earlier this month, Santana's CEO Damian Spring presented to Australia's biggest mining conference. He told delegates that their controversial fast-track mine is “not subject to any significant environmental constraints”. Report commissioned by Shane Jones, prepared by international business consultants Deloitte, reveals what we already know: NZ mining royalties are low. But we now know that they're amongst the lowest in the world! In case you missed it in today's ODT. A thoughtful article by Johnathan West. Next Monday, the clock starts ticking for Santana again. Yet there are still so many unanswered questions and unresolved issues about their controversial fast track mine. Experts warn about the possibility of "thousands of landslides" when the alpine fault ruptures, and scientists tell us this is "overdue". Hot off the press this weekend - this time in the Guardian. Despite $1bn in revenues this year, mining company Adani has paid NO TAX for that operation. For anyone wooed by talk of mining as the silver bullet to New Zealand's economic future, you might like to read this. An article in The Post in May, quoting comments from a mining expert. News recently broke that New Zealanders may face a bill of up to $5 billion because of the NZ Government’s failure to meet its CO2 reduction commitments. And right now, Santana is pushing through a fast-track application for a mine - completely ignoring the CO2 impacts of this huge operation. We've been overwhelmed with the outpouring of support - in all respects - in the last two weeks or so. Sir Sam Neill has been honoured by so many people with incredible tributes, an outpouring of love on social media, and also by supporting the causes he championed. Question: what is Santana proposing to do about the huge CO2 emissions from their mining operation? Answer: absolutely nothing.

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