Santana Minerals has presented an update on its Bendigo-Ophir Gold Project in New Zealand at the Precious Metals Summit in Beaver Creek, Colorado. The company said the presentation includes summary excerpts from the prefeasibility study released to the ASX on 1 July 2025.
According to Santana's proposed development timetable, a draft decision is expected in November 2026, followed by a final Fast-track Approvals decision on 20 January 2027. The schedule then identifies management-plan certification, earthworks and bulk pre-strip activities before a targeted first gold pour in 2028.
The company said the prefeasibility study estimates development financing of about A$277 million would be required to achieve its anticipated range of outcomes. Santana said it believes it has reasonable grounds for its funding assumptions, while cautioning there is no guarantee that funding will be secured on acceptable terms.
Santana reported that about 93% of Mineral Resources planned for extraction under the prefeasibility-study production model are in the Indicated category, with 7% classified as Inferred. The company cautioned that there is no certainty further work will convert Inferred Resources to Indicated Resources or that the production target will be realised.
Source: Download SMI official ASX announcement, 2026-09-23.
Photograph from Santana Minerals Limited's September 2026 Bendigo-Ophir Gold Project announcement.