A controversial $5B gold mining project near Tarras is now one step closer.

Mining company Santana Minerals confirmed yesterday (Thursday October 16) it had signed a binding agreement to purchase “key blocks” of Bendigo Station for $55M.

A statement from Santana Minerals said this means it now controls the ground it needs to shift from “exploration to full-scale development”.

Under the deal, Santana Minerals will acquire roughly 800 hectares of the historic station, or approximately 10 percent of the farm, for “modern open-pit mining”.

However, the proposal is subject to Overseas Investment Office approval and the Fast Track Approvals Act process.

Bendigo Station owner John Perriam said he had come around to the idea of selling the land to Santana Minerals.

“I… was determined to keep control by leasing not selling the land to Santana, but seeing the benefits the Clyde Dam has brought to Cromwell and Central Otago, and the rigorous process that new age goldmines have to go through, I have decided to stand aside and put trust into the New Zealand government process.”

John said he “didn’t feel he had the right to stand in the path of” the forecast $5B in regional economic benefits.

The gold mining proposal has faced significant opposition from the local community and has also attracted national attention.

Earlier this month nine prominent artists from around New Zealand - including Dick Frizzell, Gregory O’Brien, and Grahame Sydney - gifted works to raise funds in opposition to the gold mine.

Read more: NZ artists vow to fight proposed gold mine

“The proposed desecration of a heritage area for purely monetary gain is an outrage to all of us, as it is to the citizens of Central Otago and to all New Zealanders,” organiser Gregory O’Brien said.

Money raised will go to Sustainable Tarras, which hopes to prevent the mining from going ahead, for legal fees and expert reports.

Chair Suze Keith compared the fight between the small rural community and the mining company to “David vs Goliath”.

Santana Minerals has not yet lodged a referral application for the project via the Fast Track Approvals Act.

The company’s chief executive Damian Spring said the agreement to purchase a portion of Bendigo Station marked “a huge step forward”.

PHOTO: Supplied