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Bendigo-Ophir Gold Project
Santana Minerals · Otago
Proposed open-pit and underground gold mine at Bendigo, Central Otago, targeting about 120,000 ounces a year. Santana Minerals is seeking consent under the Fast-track Approvals Act; the application was paused in June 2026 and is still before the panel, with a decision expected late in 2026. Capital cost is around A$277m, roughly NZ$300m. It faces local opposition.
Data current as at 16 Sept 2026, when the pipeline was last checked against its source.
Key facts
- Region
- Otago
- Sector
- Mining
- Status
- Planning
- Estimated value
- $300m
- Indicative completion
- TBC
- Funding status
- Part Funded
- Lead organisation
- Santana Minerals
- Election risk
- High
Election risk assessment
Prospective open-pit and underground gold mine in Central Otago, consented through the Fast-track Approvals Act. A coalition flagship for the minerals strategy, but new large-scale mining is opposed by Labour and the Greens, and the project is not yet built.
Government priority alignment
HIGH: Central to the government minerals strategy (double minerals exports by 2035) and the Fast-track regime.
Recent changes
- 2026-W37Major New project added: Bendigo-Ophir Gold Project (Planning, $300m).
Chronology
- 2024Santana Minerals confirms the Bendigo-Ophir resource and begins seeking approvals
- 2025Overseas Investment Office consent cleared for the Central Otago land
- 2026Fast-track application paused in June for further reports requested by the panel, with material due 28 August. Still before the panel as at September
- 2027expectedEarliest development start, on the company's own guidance and subject to consent
Source
Fast-track: Bendigo-Ophir Gold Project ↗ · Beehive: Major Fast-track mining project approved ↗