Monday, 06 October 2025 15:25

Central Otago Winegrowers Warn of Risks from Proposed Bendigo Goldmine

Written by  Staff Reporters
Central Otago Winegrowers Warn of Risks from Proposed Bendigo Goldmine

Central Otago’s winegrowers are warning of major risks from a proposed open-pit goldmine in the Bendigo subregion.

ASXlisted Santana Minerals plans to use the government’s new Fast Track Approvals Act to advance its NZ$4.4 billion Bendigo- Ophir project, which would create a kilometre-wide, 200m pit with further pits and a tailings dam in a landscape designated for protection as an “outstanding natural landscape”.

Central Otago Winegrowers Association has written to Prime Minister Christopher Luxon, arguing wine and tourism deliver enduring economic and environmental value, while mining threatens contamination, reputational harm and long-term damage.

Public opposition continues to mount as the company targets gold production by 2026.

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