Australian mining company Santana Minerals — whose Bendigo-Ophir gold project has been touted as potentially generating $4.4 billion revenue — has applied for a secondary listing on the NZX.
In a notice to the ASX yesterday, on which it has a primary listing, the company said it was working through the foreign-exempt listing process subject to NZX approval and had a targeted listing date of July 25.
While the ASX would continue to be Santana’s main and ongoing primary listing, the proposed NZX listing was intended to provide opportunities for shareholders to move their shares to the NZX and show their support for the company.
In the statement, chief executive Damian Spring said Santana’s wholly-owned subsidiary Matakanui Gold had been fortunate enough to have made the largest single gold discovery in New Zealand in the past 40 years.
Kiwis were a “parochial lot” and immensely proud of their country, what it has and what it could achieve.
“We are delighted to underwrite this trait by giving all locals an opportunity to be a part of exciting new gold development on their own market in their own time zone,” Mr Spring said.
More than 40% of Santana’s share register comprised investors with New Zealand registered addresses and the company was keen to see that grow.
The Bendigo-Ophir project, beneath the hills of the Dunstan Mountains, had been a catalyst for exposing the mineral potential of the region, he said.
The company had previously estimated $4.4b of revenue could be generated over the proposed mine’s 10-year lifespan.
“The industry of the Central Otago region today is a living example of the sustainable development and prosperity that resource development can bring.
“We are keen to show the country and the world what a modern and responsibly run gold mine looks like and how it can co-exist with other stakeholders in harmony with community expectations.
“Further we are excited to share the benefits of jobs, royalties, taxes and other economic multipliers our project can generate for the benefit of all New Zealanders,” he said.
In a separate update to the ASX yesterday, Santana’s board advised ongoing infill drilling had continued to upgrade the down plunge inferred resource at the Rise and Shine discovery.
The latest calculation had seen the indicated resource category grow to total 19.1 million tonnes at 2.4g/t gold containing 1.45 million ounces, an increase of 152,000oz.
The total mineral resource estimate for the Rise and Shine deposit of 2.22 million ounces was now over 65%.
