The New Zealand government's Resources Management Act reform, which aims to speed up the approval of key projects, bodes well for Santana Minerals (ASX:SMI),
given its position as "one of the best gold only ore-bodies on the ASX with one of the best mine building teams in the country," Euroz Hartleys said in a Monday note.
Included in the government's raft of measures is to simplify the permitting system for companies, with 90% of submissions supportive of the proposed New Zealand minerals strategy.
The submissions touched on the need to ensure long-term environmental sustainability and balance trade-offs between economic development and managing the social impacts, according to a Monday update from the Ministry of Business, Innovation, and Employment.
Against this backdrop, Euroz Hartleys believes that Santana Minerals' pre-feasibility study on the Bendigo Ophir gold project, expected in November, will exceed 110,000 ounces per annum for more than 10 years, with its bull scenario running at 130,000 ounces per annum.
Euroz Hartleys raised its target price to AU$3.01 from AU$2.65 and maintained its speculative buy recommendation.
Santana Minerals' shares were up almost 3% in recent Friday trade.
Price (AUD): $2.01, Change: $+0.055, Percent Change: +2.81%
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