3-AD006.00 SOCIAL IMPACT ASSESSMENT WAIHI NORTH PROJECT Oceana Gold New Zealand Limited WSP June 2022 3 2. PROJECT OVERVIEW 2.1 OGNZL WAIHI OPERATIONS OGNZL’s Waihi Gold Mine is an open pit and underground operation located within the town of Waihi, located within the Hauraki region of the North Island of New Zealand. The history of mining in Waihi dates back to the discovery of gold in 1897. Current operations in Waihi include Project Martha (Martha Underground) and Correnso underground gold mines and associated infrastructure. The existing underground mining operation is estimated to be completed by 2030. Mining in Waihi is therefore forecasted to cease in 2030 in the absence of an extension of the life of the mine. 2.2 WAIHI NORTH PROJECT Following the purchase of the Waihi mining operation in 2015, OGNZL has undertaken near-mine exploration and geological investigations in the search for high grade silver and gold deposits. As a result of these exploration activities, ore deposits have been identified at two sites: • At Wharekirauponga, a Department of Conservation (DoC) managed forest park, approximately 10 km north of the current Waihi operations. • On company owned land near the Waihi Processing Plant. OGNZL propose to mine these deposits as part of the WNP, extending the life of mining in Waihi to 2038. The WNP consists of following main components (Figure 1): • Wharekirauponga Underground Mine (WUG) – a new underground mine at Wharekirauponga, approximately 10 km north of Waihi (located beneath the Coromandel Forest Park), and associated surface infrastructure located on farmland owned by OGNZL at the end of Willows Road including a temporary rock stack, an access portal, and underground tunnels connecting to the ore body and the Waihi Processing Plant. • Gladstone Open Pit (GOP) – A new open pit mine located south of the existing Waihi processing operations, on company owned land, which on completion of mining will be converted to a tailings storage facility (TSF). • Tailings Storage Facility 3 (TSF3) – A third tailings storage facility, located to the east of current facilities to increase tailings storage capacity. • Northern Rock Stack (NRS) – A new rock stockpile located to the north of the current tailings storage facilities. • Water Treatment Plant (WTP) upgrade – required to double the current treatment capacity of the existing WTP. • Processing Plant upgrade – required to increase processing capacity at the existing OGNZL Processing Plant.
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