The proposed Bendigo-Ophir goldmine has drawn opposition from Sam Neill, Helen Clark, and now the government\u2019s own environment watchdog, writes Catherine McGregor in today\u2019s excerpt from The Bulletin.<\/p>\n
To receive The Bulletin in full each weekday,\u00a0sign up here<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u2018One opportunity to get this right\u2019<\/p>\n The parliamentary commissioner for the environment has issued a stark warning over the proposed Bendigo-Ophir gold mine in Central Otago: if the fast-track panel cannot receive independent assurance that the project\u2019s considerable environmental risks can be mitigated, the application should be declined. Simon Upton\u2019s submission to the panel, reported by\u00a0Mike White in The Post<\/a>\u00a0(paywalled), arrives as scrutiny of the project intensifies \u2013 Sam Neill gave an interview to\u00a0the Guardian<\/a>\u00a0over the weekend, giving the controversy an international profile.<\/p>\n Australian company Santana Minerals has applied to build four open pits in the Dunstan Range near Cromwell, the largest of which would be 1km long and 300m deep, alongside a 2km tailings storage dam that would remain in perpetuity. The company says the project follows the most significant gold discovery in New Zealand for 40 years and would generate $6 billion in revenue, more than $1 billion in taxes and royalties, and 357 direct jobs. The fast-track panel has until October 29 to make its decision. \u201cImportantly,\u201d Upton wrote, \u201cthe panel has one opportunity to get this right.\u201d<\/p>\n What Upton is worried about<\/p>\n Upton\u2019s primary concerns are water and earthquakes: the proposed tailings storage facility would hold what he described as \u201clarge quantities of potentially hazardous mining residues in the headwaters of one of New Zealand\u2019s largest river systems \u2013 an area that is also susceptible to very large earthquakes\u201d. He flagged the risk of seepage into groundwater and noted that Santana\u2019s own experts could not give certain assurances this could be entirely prevented. Polluting leachate from tailings facilities, he wrote, \u201ccan continue for decades and even centuries after mine closure\u201d.<\/p>\n Upton was also troubled by imprecise language in Santana\u2019s application, citing the objective that \u201ccontamination caused by the operation is appropriately remediated or managed\u201d. \u201cWhat \u2018appropriately\u2019 means in this context,\u201d he wrote, \u201cis anyone\u2019s guess.\u201d The risks of acid mine drainage and tailings failures are, he said, \u201carguably greater\u201d in New Zealand than elsewhere given the country\u2019s seismic exposure. \u201cIt is what happens if things do not go to plan that is my concern.\u201d<\/p>\n A movie star makes his voice heard<\/p>\n In his Guardian interview, Neill is careful not to come across as an anti-mining zealot. \u201cI\u2019m not against mining. I\u2019m against this mine,\u201d says the actor and winemaker, who has grown pinot noir under his Two Paddocks label in the region for 30 years and whose family has been in Central Otago for over 150 years. His concern extends beyond the single application: with Santana holding permits over a vast surrounding area, he warned that approval would set off a chain reaction. \u201cThere will be mining all around us, and that\u2019ll be the end.\u201d Neill has fronted a short documentary on the issue,\u00a0Into the Dunstan Mountains<\/a>.<\/p>\n The Santana project has created deep divisions in the community. Supporters, represented by a Facebook group with 8,500 members, point to the economic relief those jobs would bring to a region where many are under financial pressure. Opponents, including former prime minister Helen Clark, warn that the fast-track law under which the application is being processed has \u201clittle regard\u201d for the environment.<\/p>\n The rush behind the mine<\/p>\n