Sam Neill says New Zealand goldmine supporters have threatened him with violence | New Zealand

Actor Sam Neill says he has received threats of violence from supporters of a controversial gold mine that could be opened several kilometers from his farm in New Zealand’s Central Otago district, after publicly opposing the New Zealand government’s plan to accelerate the mine’s development.

Australian mining company Santana Minerals is pushing to speed up construction of an 85-hectare (210-acre) open-cast gold mine, called Bendigo-Ophir, in the Dunstan Mountains, an area dubbed an “outstanding natural landscape” by the Central Otago District Council.

Santana has called the mine 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 regions.

“I stand by these opinions and I’m glad I expressed them. What I wasn’t prepared for was the personal abuse I would face,” Neill said in a now-viral video posted to his Instagram account.

Sustainable Tarras confirmed that members of the group had also received threats, some of which were reported to the police.

In March, Neill told the Guardian he believed “one of the most beautiful and isolated places in the world” would be destroyed if Bendigo-Ophir was granted fast-track approval.

The Bendigo-Ophir gold mine is among hundreds of applications being considered under the Coalition government’s controversial Fast-Track Act, which has sparked protests in 2024 and almost 30,000 public submissions on the bill.

Speaking to the Guardian, Neill said: “When I began to express doubts about this mine and the potential damage it could cause, I was completely blown away by the toxicity of the opposition I encountered. »

Some of these personal attacks have come from Resources Minister Shane Jones, a self-proclaimed disciple of the Trumpian mantra “drill, baby, drill”, who described Neill in an interview last year with the New Zealand Post as “anti-Kiwi”.

Environmental disasters caused by improperly stored waste in tailings dams have long plagued the mining industry. A tailings dam will also be built at Bendigo-Ophir where toxic waste, including arsenic, will be permanently stored.

“Central Otago is currently booming economically,” Neill said, referring to the region’s unemployment rate, the lowest in the country. “The last thing we need is a toxic mine upstream. It’s important to keep in mind all that will be lost if a mine is allowed, including all those jobs, the hotel industry, the viticulture, the fruit growing.”

Neill has run a pinot noir vineyard in New Zealand’s southernmost wine region for 30 years. He added: “One of the great responsibilities we have in life is to leave the planet better than we found it.

“It’s really part of my role, my mission, for the 30 years I’ve been growing vines.”

The Guardian has contacted Shane Jones for a response.