The company behind a fast-tracked gold mine near Cromwell has hit pause on its application for a second time, pushing a final decision out to January.Australian company Santana Minerals applied in November to build an open-cast mine in the Dunstan Mountains, where it wants to target a $4.4 billion gold deposit.In a minute published this week, it volunteered a 10-working-day suspension to give the fast-track panel and environmental groups time to review 600 pages of new information about the mine.Santana Minerals submitted the water, ecotoxicity and social impact data on the same day the previous suspension ended.Facing immediate protests from environmental groups who said they had no time to read the documents, the fast-track expert panel ruled that denying them a chance to respond would violate "natural justice"."The panel has the firm view that the information should in fact have been provided at the time of the initial application," it said.The panel said its target timeline for a draft decision had moved to the week of 30 November.It said it would make a final decision on the gold mine on 20 January 2027.In an announcement to shareholders, Santana Minerals chief executive Damian Spring said there would not be any further delays."We expect this is the final request for a pause from the expert panel before they begin their decision-making process ... we are two weeks further out, but materially closer," he said.Meanwhile, Kā Rūnaka had filed its preferred set of mana whenua conditions for the mine while reserving its position, Santana Minerals said."We expect to continue the kōrero to finalise and agree those conditions."If approved, the mine would be among the country's largest, consisting of a 1000-metre-by-850-metre open pit, three smaller satellite pits and a tailings dam.Some locals have voiced concerns the project could harm the environment and damage existing industries, while others have welcomed it as a major economic opportunity for the region.The new material submitted by Santana Minerals included a previously omitted social impact assessment, along with detailed scientific modelling on water quality, ecotoxicity, and native lizard relocation.The panel had questioned the company's plan to relocate more than 100,000 lizards, noting that the rescue mission could cost tens of millions of dollars despite expert consensus that long-term survival rates were likely to be low.It also asked if Santana Minerals was willing to indemnify the public against the costs of a "catastrophic failure".