Welcome, folks. Folks, not ladies and gentlemen; it's a good non-binary term. I'm Peter Cook. I'm the Non-Executive Director and the Chairman of Santana, and I'll be chairing the 2025 AGM today. Firstly, I'd like to introduce my co-directors, my co-non-executive directors at the end of the table: Mr. Kim Bunting, Mrs. Emma Scotney, and of course our executive directors in the middle: Damian Spring and Sam Smith, and Craig McPherson, our Company Secretary and CFO. Also, welcome members of our leadership team who are online today, namely Paul Miles, Christian White, Dave Strech, and Mark, who's here in presence. They work for our wholly-owned subsidiary, Matakanui Gold, just renamed as Santana Minerals NZ. Paul fills the role of General Manager, Christian fills the role of Financial Controller in New Zealand, Dave Strech the role of Construction Manager.
Along with our executive directors, these are the engine room of our operations at Bendigo-Ophir, and they're a superb team. As shareholders are aware, our primary listing is in Australia on the ASX. In fact, Perth is our home exchange. We are dual-listed, also trading on the New Zealand Stock Exchange, and to that extent, the vast majority of our shareholders, by number, on a ratio of about 5:1 , are New Zealand-based, New Zealand addresses. However, they only own about 43% of the shares on issue. As a consequence, we held the AGM in Auckland last year, giving our New Zealand shareholders an opportunity to attend in person. Today, I suppose, we're at home. Welcome. Today's meeting is a hybrid-style meeting. I'm delighted to be able to host most of you in person.
I also welcome those shareholders participating online through a virtual meeting platform provided by our share registry, MUFG. Do we have a number of people who are online, Craig?
Sixty-five, including in person.
Sixty-five people online from New Zealand. Welcome to all the Kiwis. I should say kia ora. The format of today's meeting: we'll deal with the formal business first, and then we'll complete the voting, and then our CEO, Damian, will give a brief presentation and update. Of course, after that, you're all welcome to stay and ask any question you like. The questions you ask can be anything you like. The answers may not be what you want to hear, but you can ask the question. Moving on to the formal business, I declare that by virtue of those in person and in proxy, we do have a quorum, and I declare the meeting open. Shareholders, the year 2025 has been a successful one for the company.
We've progressed our Bendigo-Ophir Gold Project, powered by the wonderful Rise and Shine Gold Discovery, or RAS as we abbreviate it, towards a holy grail of long-term gold production, long-term profitable gold production. Our scoping study and subsequent pre-feasibility study revealed very strong commercial metrics, and that's been further turbocharged by a rising gold price, in fact, almost to the highest levels where the metal's traded in its history. During the year, we applauded the focused commitment shown by the current New Zealand government, and in particular, Minister Bishop and Minister Shane Jones, to see the Fast-t rack Approvals Act achieve royal assent at the end of December in 2024. It's a new bill, a new format for the industry, which provides a clear path for economic development.
The Fast-track framework gives nationally significant projects a single coordinated pathway, cutting duplication, tightening timeframes, and keeping the process focused on what genuinely matters. It restores predictability to New Zealand's investment environment, and it ensures high-value developments aren't stalled by unnecessary procedural drag. Along with a diverse group of industries and development projects, the mining sector and our project were able to apply itself to this new legislation. After joining a long line of applicants, I think over 3,000, the efforts and determination of our CEO, Damian Spring, enabled us to be invited on a select list of projects to be deemed of major economic significance to New Zealand. We were invited onto this list, referred to as Schedule 2, and we're actually named in the legislation. This provided us with a conditional pathway to achieve development consents within a prescribed timeframe.
Put bluntly, and most of you know me, I'm generally pretty blunt, the framework is meant to stop major projects being knocked off the course by narrow objections. It brings the focus back to what actually matters, balancing real environmental considerations with the wider economic gains of jobs, investment, and long-term sustainable value. Without going into any detail, after a testing period for all of us, we closed out October the major step forward with our full consent application being lodged. This moves the project firmly into the completeness and decision phase, with clear timeframes ahead. The full 9,400 pages of this submission are available online for shareholders if they care to read about the lizards and the birds and the bees. Of course, building a social and statutory license for a project of this scale always brings complexity.
We've engaged a broad spectrum of stakeholders, each bringing their own expectations to the table. Our job has been to navigate those pressures constructively, stay disciplined about what's appropriate, and ensure the commitments are grounded in fair, transparent, region-wide economic benefit over the life of the project. Subsequent to the year-end, our team had delivered again with improved economics, an updated feasibility study from a revised development plan, and of course, further turbocharged by higher gold price. We've executed our strategy to future-proof our project for shareholders with two strategic land acquisitions, including royalty buybacks. I'm pleased to say we have two binding but conditional on Overseas Investment Office contracts to own the lands our project operates on a freehold basis. These will eventually replace and supersede our previous access agreements over the same lands.
Importantly, the coincident buyback and internalisation of those royalties will actually lower our operating costs further and should endorse them to be one of the lowest in Oceania, Australasia, and indeed the world, the whole world. Shareholders, we've got a great project, a great opportunity, a great team, and they can deliver for all the stakeholders on this project. The market, too, is waking up. Over 2025 financial year, the share price is up 55%. You can add to that a further 65% since the June 30 year-end. In both periods, it's outperformed the rising gold price, which rose 40% in the previous year and has risen another 28% since. While these results are strong, we see them as only the beginning. Our momentum is building, and we expect to deliver even stronger performance as this exceptional project moves to commercialisation.
Today, we have seven analysts covering the stock with an average target price of just under AUD 1.50 a share, nearly double where it trades today. In the year forward, our focus will move to financing and then construction, with the aim to being the aim to producing gold bars by mid to late 2027, just over a year and a bit in construction. Once achieved, you will have witnessed an extraordinary feat in the mining sector and for the reputation of New Zealand as a development destination. A new discovery going from or a new project going from discovery to production in just over five years. Before I move on to the business of the meeting, I want to take this opportunity to thank our shareholders, past, present, and emerging; we all know those terms in Australia, for the loyalty and trust they bestow on the board as your directors.
On behalf of the whole of the board and our management team, I want to say a big thank you to you. We do recognize that we're merely custodians of your money, and I can assure you we go to work every day to try and do the best for you. Thank you. Just moving on to the procedures, we now have the matters set out of the notice of meeting. Following those matters, there will be a short presentation. I note the notice of meeting was duly given at the meeting and has been properly convened. The meeting is proceeding on the basis that the notice of meeting is taken as read. Please note that only shareholders, proxy holders, or shareholder company representatives may vote.
I propose to call a poll on each of the resolutions, and for the purpose of that poll, I appoint our personnel from MUFG at the back to act as the returning officers for the conduct of the poll. Results of each resolution will be announced on the ASX and NZX platforms later today when accounting is complete. Shareholders, validly nominated representatives and attorneys present in the room and entitled to vote, please ensure you've signed an attendance card and you have an appropriate form. Shareholders, proxy holders, or appointed representatives are issued with a yellow card, and you're entitled to ask questions and vote. If you've been issued with a blue card, you may ask questions but not vote. If you've been issued with a red card, we know what a red card is, you're not entitled to vote or ask questions.
Please see the guys from MUFG if you have any questions on the matter. Shareholders attending this meeting online will be able to cast their votes using an electronic voting card received when online registration was validated. Please refer to the virtual annual meeting online portal guide or use the helpline specified. Online shareholders and online proxy holders can start submitting questions on any resolution now by clicking on the ask question box. The Company Secretary will read genuine and appropriate questions to the meeting at the appropriate point. However, I do note he may not read out every question if we receive several queries of the same type. Lengthy questions may be summarized, and questions that relate to matters that have already been addressed during the meeting will not be raised again. Moving on to the items of business.
The first item of business to consider are the financial statements of the company for the year-end of 30th of June 2025. Together with the director's report, the auditor's report is set out in our annual report. I advise that no resolution is required in respect of these items. Also note that the company's auditor, KPMG, and Simon Crane, our auditor, is online virtually, as is required by the Corporations Act. Is there any question from a shareholder in a room that they wish to ask of the independent auditor? No. I note that the board has received no written questions to be asked of the auditors relating to the annual report. Craig, I ask, is there any new online questions in relation to this matter?
No. There are not.
There are not. I now move on to the other resolutions. Outline of the notice of the meeting. I note that all resolutions at the meeting other than resolution 11 are ordinary resolutions, each requiring a simple majority of votes to be cast by shareholders, shareholders who are entitled to vote. Resolution 11 is a special resolution requiring support of at least 75% of the votes cast by shareholders entitled to vote. I move on to resolution one. Resolution one relates to the remuneration report. We have that resolution on the screen. This resolution concerns remuneration report as set out in the notice of meeting. Is there any shareholder here in the room who'd like to ask a question about the REM report? No? Craig, any online questions about the REM report? No questions. Thank you.
Please now select for, against, or abstain on your voting card. You can either do it now or at the end if you like. I just moved to the proxies on the screen relating to this resolution. As you can see, quite strongly in favor, and all open usable votes directed to me as Chairman will be voted for the resolution. Resolution two relates to the re-election of Mrs. Emma Scotney as a director of the company. Emma was appointed to the board on the 3rd of February 2025. She brings a strong background in corporate law, finance, and over 25 years of practical business aptitude as a farmer, primary producer in her family business. She is also an experienced non-executive director across a wide range of industries on matters including commercial contracts, corporate governance, mergers and acquisition, due diligence, capital raising, compliance, ASX listing rules, and ASIC.
Is there anything Emma can't do? Emma brings a well-rounded, highly valuable skill set to the board of engineers and geologists. Craig, are there any questions in relating to this matter online?
We do have a question which asks us to talk to Emma's experience in previous capital raisings involving retail shareholders, which goes on to then talk about the SPP and the amount we raised under the SPP, which is a crossover also to the next matter.
Sure. I think in defining Emma's background there, it's pretty clear Emma's been involved as a director in a number of capital raisings there. The specifics, maybe if that shareholder writes us a letter, I'll respond appropriately with all of the detail there. In terms of the SPP, rather than leave that to the next round, I'll answer that. The SPP was based upon, one, history, the support of shareholders when it did a previous SPP, which was about 40% taken up, and a position such that the placement that was done, which attached to this SPP, getting down to shareholder number 15, if a shareholder took up his AUD 30,000 worth, they would remain whole and non-diluted. The board made a decision at the time not to take overs in the SPP, which was 7x over.
As usually happens in these things, when the share price trades above the SPP price, there is always a lot of support from people who feel that they are missing out. Hopefully that answers that question. Are there any questions from the audience about Emma's reappointment? No? I ask you now to fill your votes in. Resolution three, moving on to the ratification of the placement shares. Sorry. Before I move forward, strongly in favor of Emma's re-election. Resolution three, I am showing on the screen. Ratification of the issue of the placement shares is set out in the notice of meeting. Ratification, meaning it has already occurred. Is there any shareholder in the room who would like to ask a question? No? Craig, any more questions online?
No further questions.
No further questions online. Thank you. I ask you to fill out your voting cards. Proxy voting on the resolution shown on the screen. Resolution four, the approval of employee incentive securities plan. I note the resolution displayed on the screen. The resolution concerns the approval of the employee incentive securities plan as set out in the notice of meeting. Any shareholder in the room that would like to ask a question on this matter? Craig, any questions from shareholders online?
No questions, Chair.
Thank you. Just put the proxies up for this. Again, strongly in favor. Ask you to fill out your voting card. Resolution five relates to the issue of performance rights to Mr. Damian Spring, the company's CEO. The resolution is displayed on the screen. The resolution concerns the issue of performance rights as set out in the notice of meeting, which we've taken as read. Is there any shareholder in the room wishing to ask a question in relation to this matter? Craig, any questions online? Surely there must be.
There is a question. To summarize it, I believe the question is, what is Damian's history in achieving past milestones in relation to past incentives granted?
Sure. Thank you for that question. It's a mixed history. Our history in achieving some of the milestones relating to the project and growing the project's value for shareholders have been fulfilled. The incentives have resulted from delays in our permitting process, pretty much beyond Damian's control, but as the board is well aware and as Damian is well aware that what matters to the shareholders of the company are its mining permits and its outcomes rather than how hard he works in trying to achieve those. Hopefully that answers that question. Any questions from anyone in the room? Thank you. I'll just ask you now to vote, and I'll put up the proxies on this resolution. Again, strongly in favor. Moving to resolution six, the issue of performance rights to Sam Smith. Resolution is again displayed on the screen for you to view.
It concerns the issue of performance rights as set out in the notice of meeting. Is there any question in the room relating to this matter? No. Craig, are there any questions online?
No, there are not.
Thank you. You can now vote appropriately. I'll put the proxies up for this resolution, very similar to the same resolution for Damian. I say, "Congratulations, guys. You're doing a great job." Resolution seven, approval of potential benefits in relation to performance rights to be issued to Mr. Damian Spring. I note this resolution is displayed on the screen. Concerns the approval of potential benefits or future performance right benefits to be issued to Damian Spring as set out in the notice of meeting. Are there any questions from anyone in the room? Craig, do we have any questions online?
No, we do not, Chair.
Thank you. I ask you to vote accordingly. The proxies? Again, very strongly in favor. Resolution eight, the approval of benefits in relation to performance rights to be issued to Sam Smith or his nominee. Resolution is displayed on the screen. Again, long-term performance rights issued to Sam Smith as set out in the notice of meeting, which we've taken as read. Is there any question from anyone in the room on the matter? Craig, do we have any online questions?
No, we do not.
Thank you. No online questions. I ask you to vote accordingly. Proxy voting on this resolution displayed on the screen. Resolution nine relates to the potential benefits in relation to performance rights to be issued to Craig McPherson, company's CFO and Company Secretary. I note the resolution is displayed on the screen. Is there any shareholders that would like to ask a question of the matter? Do we have any online questions, Craig?
No, we don't.
No, we don't. Again, I ask you to vote accordingly. Proxy votes displayed on the screen. Resolution 10 relates to the proposed issue of shares to vendors of Ardgour Station. I note the resolution is on your screen. Prior to prompting questions, part of the consideration of the acquisition of this parcel, the farmer chose to join himself at the hip with the company and exposed himself to the upside in the company in that transaction, with some of his consideration, I think it was about 20%, wasn't it, being taken in shares in the company at the date the agreement was signed. Any questions in the room relating to this matter? No? Any questions online?
No questions, Chair.
No questions online. Proxy voting on the screen. Strongly in favor. I ask you to fill out your voting card accordingly. Resolution 11, renewal of proportional takeover provisions. The resolution is displayed on the screen. It does concern the renewal of the proportional takeover provisions as set out in the notice of meeting, which we have taken as read. Is there any shareholder in the room wishing to ask a question on this matter? No? Craig, any online questions?
No online questions, Chair.
No online questions. Thank you. I ask you to fill your voting card out. Proxies shown on the screen. Shareholders, you're reminded you can shareholders online are reminded that they can submit their votes.
Just some general questions as well.
Okay. Yep, we'll come to that. Shareholders online are reminded they can vote online until five minutes after the meeting closes. We do not intend holding the meeting open whilst the final tallies take place, but they will be submitted on the ASX. As you have seen, I doubt whether any resolution will not be carried. We do have some online questions, some general online questions, which I am happy to answer or attempt to answer on the record.
There is a question related to our future capital raisings. The question in essence is, how will we involve retail and existing shareholders in our future approach?
Thank you for that question. Is a person nominated? It's just a general.
Anonymous. Douglas Minchin.
Yep. Thank you, sir. Yeah, look, our intention is always to look after existing shareholders in whatever we do. Sometimes a circumstance arises that it's not capable, hence the last placement, which is a sophisticated investment placement done to shareholders under our listing rules with what we call 708A investors who have net assets above AUD 2.5 million and maybe, Sarah, you can remind me of the other little check. But people who are sophisticated investors in the market. The way we intended to try and look after smaller shareholders there was to via the SPP so they could participate at the same price. Really, all I can say is that depending on timing and need, we'll always look to give smaller shareholders every opportunity to participate in any placement that we do one way or the other. I can't be any more specific than that.
We're not planning any rights issues or any other approach via that, but that's the way it'll work. Of course, unless a shareholder wants to underwrite a couple of hundred million dollars to help develop the project, we'll be very happy to take that call. Craig?
I've got a question in relation to our audit, and I guess the question is, when did we last tender the audit, and what is our ongoing approach to auditors and tendering of such services?
Thank you. Our auditors, KPMG, have served the company very well. We've just this year had a change of audit partner overseeing it. The process of changing auditors is a process that needs to be nominated by a shareholder representing more than 5% of the company. We do every year check the price we are paying for audits comparatively around with our peer group, and we have no reason at this point in time to or dissatisfaction in our current auditors. Unless a shareholder recommends a change of auditor or proposes a change of auditor with a group of people representing more than 5% of the company, we probably won't be looking to tender that out. Any more questions, Craig?
One further question at this stage. Will we make a copy of this hybrid webcast available to shareholders who are unable to attend?
You're putting me on the spot now. I have no issue with that. I have no issue with that whole process. I assume it's been recorded and taped. Any shareholder online or whatever who would like to get a copy of that, just contact the company, and we'll look to forward you one. That's the end of the online questions.
That completes the online questions.
Thank you very much. Ladies and gentlemen, or folks, as I say, in my non-binary sense, that concludes the formal business of the meeting, and I now declare the Annual General Meeting of Santana for 2025 closed. I'm just going to—oh, sorry. I'm terribly sorry. Just before we retract that close and put it back in, put your voting slips in. Again, you've now got five minutes if you're online to fill out your voting slip. I declare the meeting closed. I'll now hand over to our CEO, Damian, to provide a short presentation, after which you're welcome to stay and have a cup of tea—nice cupper—it's good—and mingle with the directors. Thank you.
Right. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. It's good to be back in the great state of Western Australia. A couple of my older boys—my two older boys—were born here, so it's great to be presenting on Santana Minerals the past year and the year that's coming forward. It's been a hard year of hard toil, but we've got some really key milestones that we've achieved, and Cookie's definitely touched on all of them. I'm just going to go through it in a little bit more depth. I guess the biggest question this year has been, "What is Fast-track ?" We've certainly asked that question, and we've also asked the question, "What Fast-track is not?" We're certainly getting the answer to that with our application now in. We'll keep it brief. Just a reminder that today's a summary.
It's not the full data room, but there's plenty of information available on our website. We're just going to talk about and highlight real progress that we've made over the last 12 months and talk about in terms of facts, processes, and evidence. That's what underpins everything that we do. This has definitely been a year of getting the foundations right. Certainly put out recently, as we submitted our Fast-track , that we spent AUD 8 million on assembling what is, by any measure, the most data-heavy application for consent in Central Otago. We've undertaken a mountain of studies that form a mountain of science and turned it into that comprehensive application. That AUD 8 million has covered all sorts of topics you could imagine from water, air, noise, ecology, geotech, tailings, seismicity, and many more, ensuring that our application under the Fast-track leaves no questions unanswered.
We also released mid-year our updated PFS, and thank you to my fellow director, Sam Smith, for driving that process through and demonstrating stronger economics through really hard work on the ground, through better understanding our geology and refining our mine plan. Of course, anything subsequent is due to the appreciating gold price. We've had great success in our step-out drilling, adding further extensions to the RAS. Our land acquisitions, we've got strategic control over the area for our mine plan. That is nearly 3,700 hectares of freehold land in those binding agreements, conditional, but that is on the back of seven years or more of trust that we've earned of those landowners, discovery we've made, and straightforward dealing with those owners. They are both two long-standing families with strong connections to the history of gold mining in Bendigo, Otago.
As Cookie said earlier, and it's also been picked up on the media, we've been, by internalizing that royalties, the value stays where it should, and that's with our shareholders. Of course, the big one, the Fast-track submitted a couple of weeks ago. You can imagine getting greenfield mining approvals in a tier-one jurisdiction, it's challenging. It wasn't easy, but we've got there. As I said, we've submitted a robust, data-rich application, which thousands of hours have distilled into a disciplined document. We're confident that the EPA and the panel will see that it's a robust, detailed application for a project that will deliver the benefits for New Zealand in a responsible, sustainable manner.
Lastly, on that slide at least, but most important, is we've been actually granted one of the key permits: a 30-year mining permit granted in eight months that reflects the strong documentation and a regulator persuaded by the evidence provided. Due to the timing of our permit, this will be one of the first permits issued in New Zealand that will be triggering the Crown's 10% windfall royalty on accounting profits. In terms of the PFS, that works out to be about AUD 32 million a year, equivalent to 2.5x the royalties paid for all minerals last year in New Zealand. I understand from the team who's providing the audio visuals that the people online may not see this next fly-through, so I just encourage you to take the time and jump on our website. It's available there on our homepage.
That's going to give you a sense of what the project's about.
Welcome to a fly-through of Santana Minerals Bendigo-Ophir Gold Project, nestled in the heart of Central Otago in New Zealand's South Island. This remarkable region is framed by popular towns such as Wanaka, Queenstown, Cromwell, and Alexandra, beneath the rugged sweep of the Dunstan Mountains, known as Matakanui in Māori. The total project footprint spans around 610 hectares of Central Otago high country, land that's been both grazed and historically mined for more than a century. As we draw closer, the defining geological feature comes into view: the Thomson Gorge Fault, or TGF. It forms the hanging wall for a series of key deposits: Come-in-Time , Rise and Shine, Srex, and Srex East. The plan view reveals our open pits, the tailing storage facility, and the engineered landforms known as ELFs, all designed for safety, efficiency, and long-term stability.
Here you can also see our stockpiles, the main access road, and our processing plant, all within the Shepherds Valley. Further to the northwest, on the Ardgour Flats, lies the administration and utilities precinct, the operational hub of the project. As we focus on Ardgour Flats, the infrastructure zone appears in the foreground, connecting to an access road leading directly into the valley. Above is the processing plant and stockpile areas and the Shepherds Valley diversion channel designed to protect natural water flow. Rising beyond is Battery Hill, a familiar local landmark overlooking the Rise and Shine pit, engineered landform, tailing storage facility, and the upper reaches of Shepherds Valley. The Rise and Shine pit develops progressively through seven stages. In stage one, construction begins on the western engineered landform. By stage three, the tailing storage facility takes shape. By stage seven, the open pit is fully developed.
During open pit operations, underground mining begins beneath the completed pit, accessed by twin declines. Extraction uses long hole open stoping on retreat, with paste fill maintaining ground stability. Exploration drilling continues to extend mineralisation northward and deeper underground. Later, attention shifts to the Come-in-Time pit, which will be backfilled to reduce visual impact. Toward the end of mine life, activity moves to Srex pit and Srex East pit, with engineered landforms progressively capping and restoring the landscape. Our closure plan provides for progressive rehabilitation of the tailing storage facility and engineered landforms, including the formation of pit lakes around five years for Srex and up to 25 years for Rise and Shine. As the view returns to the Ardgour Flats, it's clear how the project has been designed to integrate naturally with the landscape, minimizing long-term impact while delivering enduring value to the region.
There you have it: a nice, simple mine layout, reducing complexity and definitely ensuring certainty that underpins our Fast-track application. Just quickly recapping on the core of our portfolio here, Rise and Shine. It is the jewel in the crown. It is one of New Zealand's largest discoveries in the last 40 years. It is about almost 2 km long, down plunge, up to 50 m thick. We are still growing at its depth, where the open arrow is shown there, and that is particularly shown by MBD 466 with almost 11 m at 3 g. The high-grade core shown in purple there, both on the long section to the right and in the plan view on the left, really is what is the main driver for our mine plan at this point, with 1.1 million ounces at 4.6 g/t .
Looking at that long section, for any of you budding mining engineers out there, you can see very easily how it is to get this mine underway: open pit from surface proceeding underground. Of course, this is just one of a number of discoveries made so far in this project. What's the investment case? The prevailing gold price, we expect to pay up to NZD 2.3 billion in royalties and taxes to the New Zealand government. That is over NZD 160 million a year for mine life currently, just under 14 years. It will generate up to 900 jobs, both direct and indirect and induced. Luckily, we've already had over 1,000 applications on our register. The team, over the next few months, will proceed to go back through that register to see how those inquiries will match up to the jobs that we actually need.
We've talked about it plenty. It is an outstanding discovery, thanks to Kim Bunting and Warren Batt. Teamwork it is. Of course, delivering on those fantastic economics with that PFS, an MPV, AUD 2.4 billion, pre-cash flow, AUD 3.8 billion, and a current price, a significant value proposition. Ultimately, whatever the gold price does, we are protected to the downside. A total all-in cost, that's all capital, pre-production and sustaining, and mine closure, AUD 2,100 per ounce. With a gold price north of AUD 6,000, a significant margin of AUD 4,000 an ounce. We're getting ready to develop pre-production capital of just under AUD 280 million. Now that six-month permitting window is now in motion, with plenty of upside along our 30 km of strike within the permit. I'd like to thank you for the coverage we're receiving from up to seven brokers there, Shane.
Cookie said it's the average price there of just under AUD 1.50. And these play a significant part in promoting the project to shareholders, both past, current, and emerging. The upside, AUD 1.85, reflects a straightforward value gap. And of course, financing strategy, balance, debt, and equity ratio remains aligned with our project schedule. But of course, what is that timeline? In terms of Fast-track , this Friday, 21st of November, we will receive a notice from the EPA in regards to its check on the completeness of our Fast-track application. Once that is accepted, the application goes to the panel convener, and the EPA commissions a number of reports.
At this time, really, the panel convener is trying to work out what is the scale and complexity of the application, what matters remain unresolved with the regulators, and what expertise will be required on that panel in order to ultimately convene the panel, appoint those members with the right mix of expertise, and also put a date on when that decision needs to be made within the statutory framework as it stands today of maximum six months. There are lots of milestones in there, including the written comments and our response. That is the opportunity for those regulators to lay out very clearly what they understood from our application, which they have had an opportunity to review over the last months. We will have five days to respond to those replies.
Ultimately, the final decision must weigh the purpose of the act, which is to facilitate the development projects of significant regional and national benefit. That test is straightforward. The answer is obvious. We're not sitting on our hands. We've got plenty of other work underway. We're currently installing a raw water line from Bendigo aquifer up to the project, a distance of almost 6 km. Shortly, there will be site access works and upgrades to Thomson Gorge Road, pending agreement with the council. We'll have detailed engineering underway to specify or spec the mining fleet, bore mill, crushers, and transformers in order to make those orders in the very near future to ensure delivery on time in the later part of the latter half of 2026. A June quarter approval puts us in a position to start immediately.
Of course, 14 months from first dig to first gold. By industry, that is fast. Certainly, from discovery to first gold is industry leading. That's good. It's not cut off on my screen a little bit. Look, we've got a board and management team that are capable of executing this plan. We've got the funding runway to FID with over AUD 90 million in the bank at the end of last month. In terms of shareholders, there's 14,500 New Zealanders on our share register, about 85% of the register that own over 40% of the company, which represents a material national buy-in. Market cap has definitely tracked up since our AGM from last year, obviously on the back of gold prices last month, and remains substantial at around AUD 700 million. Board, management, and New Zealand private investors meaningfully invested alongside all the shareholders.
Of course, this gold discovery is far from finished with us. We have 290 sq km of tenure shown at those two green polygons, with a 30 km distance between the town of Bendigo to the northwest and the town of Ophir to the southeast, both historic gold mining towns. Exploration has continued in terms of fieldwork, mapping, in order to develop those drill targets on some of those anomalies on the east side of the Dunstan Mountains, such as Dans and Orkney, which we are in the planning stage of firming up those targets. Bendigo -Ophir has the characteristics of a multi-deposit system, and there's real potential for another Rise and Shine discovery out there. This is a gold district, not a single project. It'll take time, hard work, and great science to create the prospectus luck and find the next one.
The next 12 months will crystallize the last seven years of work to discover the Rise and Shine associated deposits and turn it into tangible gold. Obviously, the Fast-track approval will be key to that. Come Friday, we'll see where our next step lies. We have the team, and I'd like to thank both the board for its support and guidance. Of course, the team on the ground back in New Zealand at Cromwell and Bendigo, who have worked so hard to get to this point, know that we've got another hard 12 months ahead of us. Thank you, and I look forward to reporting on each milestone as they land. Thank you.