Santana’s golden opportunity with Central Otago mine prospect

Santana’s golden opportunity with Central Otago mine prospect
Santana CEO Damian Spring overlooking the Rise and Shine prospect. (Image: BusinessDesk)
Pattrick Smellie
The dry, matagouri-covered hills at the southern end of Central Otago's Dunstan Ranges were much busier 150 years ago than they are today.The town of Bendigo, not the Australian one, served goldrush-era mining concessions here, peaking in the 1860s to 1880s, supporting various small, long-abandoned settlements like Welshtown and Chinaman’s Creek.By about 1870, alluvial gold – obtained by panning or sluicing in water – had more or less run out, but the inescapable evidence that there was more gold in them hills saw the thre...

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