OceanaGold reports high-grade gold traces in the 'Deeps'

Wednesday 22nd April 2009

OceanaGold, owner of New Zealand’s largest gold mine, reported high-grade gold mineralisation beneath existing reserves at the Frasers Underground mine in the Macraes Goldfield.

Shares of OceanaGold jumped 6.9% to 93 cents and have soared 123% in the past three months. The mineralised zone, known as Panel 2 Deeps, ranged between 2 metres and 27 metres in thickness, based on 39 holes already drilled.

“The higher grade tenor of this new zone looks quite promising and we expect that it will add to the underground reserves later this year,” chief executive Steve Orr said. “This is a great start to our renewed focus on exploration in New Zealand.

OceanaGold, which is listed in New Zealand, Australia and Toronto, mines for gold at McCraes and Reefton in New Zealand and owns the Didipio Gold-Copper Project in northern Luzon, in the Philippines. The company plans to spend as much as $10 million this year on an exploration programme to find new resources and bolster reserves, it said.

Gold futures for June delivery fell 1.4% to US$867.90 an ounce on the New York Mercantile Exchange on Friday. Gold was recently at US$866.45 an ounce, the lowest since last January.

Businesswire.co.nz

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