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 9.7/10 is stronger than the peer average of 6.6/10.
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.
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 the underlying research identifies — whether a major already holds a JV, earn-in, or 5–19.9% strategic stake — isn't tracked yet and is absent from this score.
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, and Company Secretary of Felix Gold Limited. A shared corporate-services executive who also serves concurrently as CFO/Secretary/Director at Mekong Minerals Ltd, CFO & Secretary at Lukin Resources Ltd, and CFO & Secretary at Godolphin Resources Ltd (none of which are tracked in this database). Holds a Bachelor of Commerce from the University of Queensland and is a member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in Australia, with twenty years of financial management experience across numerous ASX and TSX listed companies. (Task #526 merge; sourced from Felix Gold's investor portal and M+H Private's bio page.)
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
We haven't parsed this company's PEA/PFS/FS recommendations yet — cut-off grade, mine life, DCF/NPV, and the report's own next-steps guidance are a planned research pass, not live data for every company yet.
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.