Santana Minerals (ASX:SMI, NZE:SMI) shares are being oversold due to delays in ecological studies as they "sound like a bigger deal than they actually are," said Euroz Hartleys in a Monday note.

The company delayed the submission of its fast-track approvals process concerning its Bendigo Ophir gold project in New Zealand due to outstanding ecological reports, according to a Friday filing with the Australian and New Zealand bourses.

The research firm does not believe delays to studies are anything related to ecological risks, but are actually a result of bottlenecks in personnel who can complete the studies and management plans.

The research firm added that it does not see any fundamental change to the fact that the project is arguably one of the highest-yielding Australia-listed gold development opportunities, and there is no change to the risk of permitting.

Euroz Hartley has maintained its speculative buy rating with a price target of AU$1.10, although both the rating and the price target are under review.