1 Oct 2021 OceanaGold Waihi North Project – Archaeological / Heritage Assessment WHAREKIRAUPONGA UNDERGROUND MINE (WUG) The Proposal The Wharekirauponga orebody is located approximately 11km north of the township of Waihi (Figure 2). The resource lies beneath the Coromandel Forest Park within the Wharekirauponga Minerals Mining Permit (60541) area. OGNZL is proposing to construct an access tunnel system to access and mine the orebody. The project will comprise surface infrastructure, tunnel portals, a tunnelling system and the underground mine itself (Figure 3 and Figure 4). Surface supporting infrastructure for the project will be sited at the end of Willows Road on the Willows Road Farm over a total surface land area of 18ha, including the initial main access portal, an office, workshop, carpark and helipad, lay down area for storage of equipment, development ore, rock stack and topsoil stockpiles extracted through the tunnelling process, sumps/ponds for both general surface water retention/settling and mine water and rock stack runoff collection, explosives magazine, an 8m wide haul road from the portal to the rock storage pad, with a connection to the workshop and heavy vehicle wash pad and a private road connection with Willows Road (Figure 5). The footprint of the surface infrastructure site at the end of Willows Road will first be stripped of topsoil, which will be stored in stockpiles covering an area of 2-3ha. From the access portal at the main infrastructure site a 6.8 km dual decline tunnel system will extend to the base of the WUG resource. Ventilation raises are required for air circulation and to provide emergency exit from the orebody tunnel. Four ventilation and one egress shaft (total of up to five shafts) are proposed which will have nominal diameters of up to 5.5m. The initial ventilation shaft will be located to the south of the Coromandel Forest Park along the tunnel alignment (Willows Farm Raise). The second through fifth shafts (inclusive) will be located above the Wharekirauponga orebody on previously consented, cleared and assessed locations within the Coromandel Forest Park (Figure 6). Construction of all shafts on legal road reserve will be undertaken almost entirely from underground utilising Alimak (mast climber) or similar bottom-up techniques. All material from the shaft will be removed via loaders/trucks from within the underground tunnel. On nearing the surface, some work on the surface will likely be required to establish a breakthrough and construct a collar. A 4.7km tunnel will also be constructed to the Waihi Processing Plant (the WUG Portal - Figure 4) that will be utilised for transport of ore out of the mine and waste back into the mine for stope backfilling.
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