Coromandel locals took their protest to downtown Auckland today to voice their opposition to New Talisman Gold Mines' plan to mine in the Karangahake Mountain.

But group Protect Karangahake is also accusing the mining company of trying to shut down their protest by sending the group a ‘fake tip-off' that claimed a change of venue for their AGM.

New Talisman Gold Mines shareholders have been greeted by Protect Karangahake members as they attend the company's annual general meeting in Auckland today. Photo: Supplied.

An email, plus a venue change notification sent to SunLive from Protect Karangahake, is purported to have been sent from a New Talisman shareholder.

'I am a shareholder in this company and do not agree with what they are doing at Karangahake, especially the polluting of the river,” the email says.

The AGM was held at Parnell's Jubilee Building today, but according to the notification, the venue was to be changed to the Vero Centre on Shortland Street in Auckland's CBD.

New Talisman director Matthew Hill says he was only aware of the email and venue notification after being contacted by SunLive.

'There's certainly nothing that's come out of the company and if we were going to correspond with shareholders we would need to release that information onto the market,” he says.

'We weren't aware of any protests that were going to occur up until this morning and I think there was one or two people here who were fairly quiet and disciplined.”

Matthew adds: 'It's not the first time I've had fictional stuff come out of this group, and it's unfortunate that they're not willing to engage.”

The email Protect Karangahake says it received from a New Talisman shareholder. Image: Supplied.

Spokesperson Ruby Powel says they are protesting today to show New Talisman shareholders the breadth of resistance to the company's plans to bring the mining industry back to Karangahake's fragile landscape.

'We call on shareholders to stand with the community and invest in our burgeoning tourism industry instead of New Talisman's uncertain mining project,” says Ruby.

'Karangahake has an estimated 80,000 visitors each year, making it an important conservation asset nationally as well as locally.”

New Talisman shareholders arriving at today's AGM have been greeted with pictures and personal testimony from Coromandel residents opposed to the gold mine, including from tangata whenua.

Protestors are also holding images to highlight the mining company's alleged conflicting statements regarding the amount of ore they can take from the mountain.

Ruby says New Talisman's mining project has been stalled as of late by their inability to finalise their Traffic Management Plan, required under their Resource Consent.

'Mining in Karangahake is part of our past, not our future,” she adds, 'and we are deeply committed to preventing any extraction. New Talisman must pull out.”

Ruby adds that Protect Karangahake were also happy to provide alternative investment ideas to shareholders who asked for suggestions.

But For New Talisman, Matthew says they are disappointed the group has no interest in engaging in discussion to understand what the company are doing in Karangahake.

'I guess they're philosophically opposed to mining,” says Matthew, 'so in that sense there's nothing we can say to change any view.

'It's just one of those things and they have a democratic right to protest.”

Matthew adds that today's AGM went well and the company's shareholders continued to support New Talisman.

Protect Karangahake has led resistance to New Talisman's plans over the last year, with hundreds of people attending multiple protests.

This includes over 150 local residents blocking the mine site on December 13, 2014 - the day New Talisman announced they would start works.

A screenshot of the ‘fake tip-off'. Image: Supplied