The quarry is owned by Saddle Views Estate Ltd, headed by director Calvin Fisher, but its operation has been leased to another company, Saddle Hill Quarries Ltd, for about a decade.
This week, it was confirmed the lease to operate the quarry had been bought by SOL Group, which took over on June 1 as part of a wider purchase of a related company, South Canterbury Screening and Crushing.
SOL Group had interests including SOL Quarries, based in Christchurch.
SOL Group general manager Simon Hedley confirmed the purchase when contacted, but declined further comment.
Mr Fisher said the sale of the lease ensured a ''seamless'' changeover and a continuation of existing contracts, which was ''critical'' for contractors working in the area.
However, it had delayed talks with the council over the extent of the quarry's existing use rights, he said.
A Court of Appeal ruling in April upheld earlier court rulings, which concluded a 1960 consent limiting the quarry to extracting 50,000 cubic yards (38,000 cubic metres) of rock for a new airport at Momona was no longer in force.
The ruling ensured the protection of the landmark hill's distinctive ridgeline, but left questions about the extent to which quarrying could continue under existing use rights.
Mr Fisher argued it could, while Dunedin City Council chief executive Sue Bidrose had said the ''onus'' was on Mr Fisher's company to prove it.
The parties would be meeting to discuss the issue, but Mr Fisher said on Thursday that was yet to happen.
The lease changeover had left him ''a bit hamstrung'' but he was now talking to the new lessee, and a detailed report on existing use rights was being prepared for the council, Mr Fisher said.
Dr Bidrose was not available for comment yesterday.
