Central Otago District Council (CODC) has signed a non-disclosure agreement (NDA) with the company behind a proposed gold mine in the hills above Cromwell - but Otago Regional Council (ORC) has refused.

CODC confirmed it had agreed to keep confidential early reports on the Bendigo-Ophir Gold Project, supplied to it by Matakanui Gold Ltd, a subsidiary of Santana Minerals.

ORC, however, said it had declined to sign a draft NDA offered by the company earlier this year.

Under the government’s fast-track consenting legislation, applicants must provide pre-lodgement reports to local authorities as part of consultation.

Santana chief executive Damian Spring defended the use of NDAs, saying they were common in pre-application processes.

“There needs to be a certain level of understanding between us…for us to have a robust and open discussion,” he said.

Damien said the agreements were intended to cover consultants engaged by councils, rather than to restrict the councils themselves from sharing information.

It was up to the councils to decide what information they shared under the Local Government Act, he said.

Both councils confirmed they had engaged independent specialists to review the reports they had received so far. 

CODC acting infrastructure, planning and regulatory group manager Fiona Garrett said the district council was drawing on expertise in ecology, landscape, lighting, acoustics, heritage, economics, bonding and traffic.

ORC environmental delivery general manager Joanna Gilroy said the regional council had been given 45 draft technical reports covering matters including ecology, water, geotechnical issues, noise, air quality, heritage, traffic, lighting, and economics.

Its audits and commentary on the reports will go to the expert panel considering the mine application.

A local protest group, Sustainable Tarras, said the use of NDAs underscored what it sees as a lack of transparency around the project. 

Spokesperson Rob van der Mark said the group had repeatedly asked Santana Minerals for more information.

“The CEO has accused us of misrepresenting the project…[but at the same time] they are choosing to hide the details of the mine behind NDAs and non-notified consent applications. 

“The two-paragraph FAQs and the one-page rehabilitation plan tells us next to nothing about the literal and figurative downstream impacts of the mine.”

Santana Minerals has been signalling for several months that its fast-track application is imminent. 

Once it is lodged, the application and expert reports will be made public.

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