Santana Minerals Ltd
Santana Minerals holds 100% of the Bendigo-Ophir Gold Project, New Zealand's largest undeveloped gold project, covering 251 km2 in the Central Otago goldfields 90 km northwest of OceanaGold's Macraes mine. Infill drilling at the high-grade Rise and Shine orebody continues to deliver bonanza-grade intercepts, and the company entered the S&P/ASX 300 Index in early 2026; final consent conditions for the project are due August 28, 2026 under New Zealand's Fast Track process, targeting a regulatory decision and potential construction start in early 2027.
Notable vs. Peers
- Financials score of 9.1/10 is stronger than the peer average of 5.3/10.
- Trading within 3% of its 52-week low — weak recent price momentum.
Lifecycle Milestones
Construction Milestones
0 of 5 reached- Not yet reached
- Not yet reached
- Not yet reached
- Not yet reached
- Not yet reached
Milestones are recorded only from a company's own dated disclosure. A milestone with no date shown is one we can confirm was reached but for which no date was disclosed — we don't estimate one. "Not yet reached" means exactly that, not that a date is missing. An "Expected" line likewise only ever reflects the company's own guidance (e.g. a study or permit decision targeted for a stated quarter) — most not-yet-reached milestones have none, and that absence means no such guidance has been disclosed, not that one is overdue.
Not in place: mill, tailings facility. Not yet determined: road access, grid power.
Jurisdiction (40%)8/10
New Zealand has strong rule of law and an established resource-consent framework, though the Bendigo-Ophir project's specific development pathway still depends on a pending Fast Track Approvals Act consent decision.
Infrastructure (40%)2.9/10
No confirmed mill and no confirmed tailings facility at Bendigo-Ophir Gold Project, Central Otago, New Zealand; road access and grid power not yet researched, counted at a neutral 5/10 until established.
Nearby producing mine (20%)Not yet researched
No producing mine within 50 km in our reference list (nearest listed: Macraes Mine (OceanaGold Corporation), 100 km). That list doesn't cover every mining district yet, so a longer distance isn't scored as remote.
Acquisition Susceptibility
A relative ranking of how closely this company matches the profile of juniors that have actually been acquired — not a probability, and not a reason to buy. Acquisitions are rare: only a few dozen significant deals happen a year across a universe of thousands of juniors, so even a high score here describes a long shot. The strongest signal in the research, a producer that already owns part of the company, is scored from its disclosed strategic shareholders. A producer that is a joint-venture or earn-in partner on the project, rather than a shareholder, isn't captured yet.
How this score is built
- Disclosed pending dealSub-score: Not scored
No pending acquisition or merger disclosed (checked)
Not scored: having no deal in flight isn't held against a company.
Weight 26.25% - Producer's strategic stakeSub-score: Not scored
No producer holds a disclosed stake on file (holder register researched) See holders
Not scored: most juniors that do get bought had no prior toehold, so a missing stake says little either way.
Weight 25% - Distance to a producing mineSub-score:3.3/10
Nearest producing mine: Macraes Mine (OceanaGold Corporation), 100 km
10 next to a producing mine, 8 at 20 km, 5 at 50 km, 0 beyond 200 km.
Weight 22.5% · 46% here - Lifecycle stageSub-score:10/10
Stage: Permitting
Feasibility and permitting score 10, where deals cluster, and production 5.5; earlier stages score less, down to 1 at grassroots.
Weight 15% · 31% here - JurisdictionSub-score:8/10
New Zealand: jurisdiction score 8/10
Our jurisdiction score, used as is: higher means lower political and permitting risk.
Weight 6.75% · 14% here - CommoditySub-score:10/10
Primary commodity: Gold
Gold 10, copper 8, silver 5, nickel and uranium 4, others 2: most majors' deals are for gold.
Weight 4.5% · 9% here
Weight is each input's share of the full score. “Here” is its share of this company's score: inputs that aren't scored are left out and the rest re-weighted, never counted as zero.
Your Rankings
Management Team
Executive Director and Chief Executive Officer of Santana Minerals Ltd. Mining engineer, Fellow of AusIMM.
Executive Director and Chief Development Officer of Santana Minerals Ltd. Mining engineer with open pit and underground experience.
Chief Financial Officer and Company Secretary of Santana Minerals Ltd, Company Secretary of Felix Gold Limited, and Chief Financial Officer and Company Secretary of Orbit Resources Limited (ASX: OBT, formerly Godolphin Resources Limited). Holds a Bachelor of Commerce from the University of Queensland and is a member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in Australia, with more than twenty years of commercial and financial management experience across numerous ASX, TSX and NZX listed companies; before co-founding m+h was a partner at a mid-tier accounting firm.
General Manager of Santana Minerals Ltd. Mining engineer; Bachelor of Mineral Technology, Otago School of Mines.
Geology Manager at Santana Minerals Ltd. 20 years' experience in gold, copper and zinc mining; BSc Geology, University of Otago.
Financial Controller of Santana Minerals Ltd. Over 30 years' finance experience across construction and infrastructure.
Commercial Manager at Santana Minerals Ltd. 25-year career in banking and finance before moving into mining.
Environment Manager at Santana Minerals Ltd. Over 20 years' experience in the gold mining sector.
Senior Advisor, Communications and Government Relations at Santana Minerals Ltd. Former Parliamentary Team Leader for two New Zealand electorates.
People and Culture Manager at Santana Minerals Ltd. Background in people/culture and workforce coordination in operational settings.
Health and Safety Manager at Santana Minerals Ltd. Over 35 years' experience in mining health and safety.
Insiders, Investors & Smart Money
Notable shareholders and insiders whose involvement is worth knowing about, plus what we're seeing from institutional/large-investor activity.
No named institutional or strategic holder is on record. Chairman Peter Cook and executive director Samuel Smith both bought stock on the open market within the last year, with no offsetting selling in that window.
No notable insiders tracked for this miner yet.
Reports, Presentations & Documents
Santana Minerals owns 100% of the Bendigo-Ophir gold project, covering 251 km2 in the Central Otago goldfields of New Zealand, centred on the Rise and Shine deposit and planned as an open-pit and underground operation. The project holds 1,603,000 oz of gold in indicated resources, with no measured category, plus 734,000 oz inferred, and a probable reserve of 1.24 Moz (15.0 Mt at 2.58 g/t). The July 2025 updated pre-feasibility study shows an after-tax NPV6.5% of US$491.4M (AUD 780M) and a 39% IRR at US$2,220/oz (AUD 3,500/oz) gold, with initial capital of US$174.5M (AUD 277M), a 13.8-year mine life producing 1.25 Moz, and an all-in sustaining cost of US$1,045.8/oz (AUD 1,660/oz). A 30-year mining permit was granted in November 2025, and the project is going through New Zealand's Fast-Track Approvals process, with a final consent decision scheduled for 16 December 2026.
Bendigo-Ophir Gold Project Updated PFS (1 Jul 2025): after-tax NPV6.5 of A$780M and IRR of 39% at a base-case A$3,500/oz gold price (rising to A$1,520M/65% IRR at A$4,950/oz). JORC Ore Reserve 15 Mt @ 2.58 g/t for ~1.24 Moz gold, 13.8-year initial mine life, ~1.25 Moz total LOM production, A$277M initial capex, A$1,842/oz AISC. Broader 4-deposit Mineral Resource is ~2.9 Moz.