Actor says his opposition to South Island development near his farm has led to personal abuse
The actor Sam Neill says he has received threats of violence from supporters of a controversial goldmine that could be opened several kilometres away from his farm in New Zealand’s Central Otago district, after he publicly objected to the New Zealand government’s plans to fast-track the mine.
The Australian mining company Santana Minerals is pushing to expedite a 85-hectare (210-acre) open-cast goldmine, called Bendigo-Ophir in the Dunstan mountains, an area dubbed “outstanding natural landscape” by the Central Otago district council.
The mine has been dubbed by Santana as the country’s most significant gold discovery in 40 years, but it has sparked fierce opposition, including from Neill, who has joined forces with the environmental group Sustainable Tarras.
They say the mine could be a fast track to environmental destruction and a threat to tourism in one of New Zealand’s best wine-producing regions.
