OceanaGold Waihi

Name: OceanaGold Waihi
Address: 43 Moresby Avenue, Waihi, 3610, NZ
Telephone: +6478638192

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This page provides news and information to mine staff and our local Waihi communities.

02/11/2026

Waihi Operation Mines Rescue Team excels in Australian competition

The South Australian Mines Emergency Response Competition (SAMERC) is an annual mine rescue and emergency response event. It brings together mine rescue teams from across Australia and New Zealand to test their skills, capability, and readiness through intense, realistic emergency scenarios.

The primary mission of the competition is to foster safe working environments by prioritising collaborative learning, sharing best practices, and building emergency response capacities across the resources sector. Teams operate under high pressure to solve multi-discipline, life-like simulated challenges. The exercises typically cover a wide range of emergency skills.

Founded as a volunteer-run initiative in 2010 with just three competing teams, SAMERC this year had a record-breaking 12 teams from three Australian states competing, including a Mines Rescue Team from OceanaGold Waihi Operation. In the previous two years, Waihi had competed alongside Macraes Operation as a combined OGNZL team. Due to preparation requirements for the upcoming New Zealand Mines Rescue Competition to be held at the Macraes site in late November, this year Waihi entered as a standalone team.

The teams competed in high-pressure emergency scenarios covering surface rescue, road crash rescue, industrial rescue, vertical rescue, confined space rescue, mass casualty response, firefighting, breathing apparatus search and rescue and a team skills challenge.

The Waihi team travelled without its own gear and equipment due to international travel restrictions. Through teamwork and support from fellow competitors, the team successfully borrowed the required gear and equipment, often improvising in scenarios where necessary.

Across nine events, the team achieved:
First Place – Road Crash Rescue
First Place – Team Skills
First Place – Surface Rescue
First Place – Team Safety
Second Place – Confined Space Rescue
Second Place – Industrial Rescue
Best Captain – Jesse Laughton
The team was placed second overall in the competition.

In the previous two years, Waihi had competed alongside Macraes as a combined OceanaGold NZ team. Last year, the combined team also finished second overall, winning the confined space and vertical rescue events, while also claiming the Chairman's Award. In 2024 the combined team finished third overall, winning the firefighting event.

The real rewards of competition

Waihi Operation Health Safety & Training Manager Dave Oliver is the first person to say that the event is not about winning awards or bringing home trophies.
“We participate to learn, to share, to develop, not just our emergency response abilities, but also our leadership skills, our people skills, our personal development. These are the real rewards of participating in competitions like this. While the competition results were impressive, the leadership and character displayed by the team were equally significant.”

Dave says that over the past three years, the Australian mining industry has come to recognise OceanaGold not only for the Mines Rescue Team’s technical capability at the SAMERC, but also for the professionalism, leadership, and values demonstrated by our people.

The New Zealand Mines Rescue Competition will be held at OceanaGold Macraes Operation in late November, only the second running of this event following one held in 2014. Teams from Waihi and Macraes will compete with teams from the coal industry and the New Zealand Mines Rescue Service. Waihi will field a fresh team at this event.

29/10/2026

Annual Peer Review supports responsible mining at Waihi

In September, Waihi hosted our annual independent peer review, continuing a process that has provided expert technical oversight of our environmental and operational performance since the 1990s.

Each year, independent specialists review the most recent 12 months of monitoring data across areas such as tailings engineering and dam safety, hydrogeology, geochemistry, ecology, rehabilitation, and closure activities.

The review includes technical assessments, site inspections, and discussions with council regulators, iwi, consultants, and Waihi personnel. This helps identify any trends and opportunities for improvement early, allowing them to be better understood and followed up.

One example of the process in action is the establishment of the Rehabilitation Monitoring Report. We have monitored and collected data on rehabilitation activities around Waihi for many years. Through the peer review process, this information has been brought together into formal reporting that tracks the performance of rehabilitation, planting, and pest control measures.

These activities can have positive effects on local biodiversity, and the monitoring provides a way to track the work being undertaken and changes occurring over time.

Recommendations from the review are tracked through to completion by both the company and regulators. Reviewers are also available throughout the year to provide independent technical advice when needed.

The process is an important part of how Waihi assesses its performance beyond day-to-day compliance requirements. It provides an additional layer of independent assurance, supports informed decision-making, continuous improvement, and helps guide ongoing environmental management across the operation.

28/10/2026

WAIHI COLLEGE TRADES SCHOLARSHIP 2027

Final reminder! Applications close tomorrow.

Are you a student at Waihi College and thinking of a pre-trade or apprenticeship in 2027?

The Waihi Gold Mining Education Trust is offering up to four $2,000 Trades scholarships. Any type of pre-trade or apprenticeship is eligible to apply.

See the poster for full details.

Waihi College

22/10/2026

Members of the Waihi Mines Rescue team are currently in Australia, competing in the 2026 South Australian Mines Emergency Response Competition (SAMERC).

Channel 9 News in Australia caught up with team captain Jesse to see how they were getting on.

We wish the team all the best for the remainder of the competition.

https://www.facebook.com/share/v/1FUFGi9HQk/

22/10/2026

Roofing works at the Moresby office

From now until mid-December, we’re completing works on our Moresby Ave office. Access to the Waihi Health Plus Gym and the Toy Library are unaffected.

Scaffolding has been erected to support cleaning, inspection, and remedial roofing works, and will remain in place for the duration.

21/10/2026

Barry Road subdivision approved

We’ve received approval from Hauraki District Council to proceed with our Barry Road subdivision and housing development. The development will help provide additional housing to support anticipated workforce growth associated with the Waihi North Project.

At this stage, we expect site works to get underway in late October or early November, with completion expected around April 2027, weather and other factors permitting.

About the subdivision
The subdivision will feature 12 new homes (and one existing house) with two, three, and four-bedroom designs that complement Waihi’s existing character. Eleven new titles will be created, including two with self-contained studio units. (i.e., granny flats).

Access will be from Barry Road via a new road named Mascotte Street (pronounced Mascot),named after the historic Mascotte shaft on nearby Motumanawa (Union Hill).

The homes will be built off-site and transported to Barry Road for installation, reducing construction time and disruption. Nine small trees and saplings along Barry Road will need to be removed to allow for construction activities, with replacement planting to occur after construction.

Looking to the future
Close to town and within walking distance of local shops, services, and schools, the subdivision offers well-connected housing within easy walking distance of Waihi’s shops, services and schools.

The approved design and permanent nature of the housing demonstrates OceanaGold’s long-term commitment to Waihi. These homes are not temporary or cabin-style accommodation.

Beyond meeting anticipated housing needs for our workforce, the subdivision will contribute to Waihi’s long-term housing stock, supporting wider community needs as the town continues to grow.

Want to know more?
If you have any questions or concerns, please contact our community engagement team on 0800 924 444, visit our project information office at 86 Seddon Street, or email [email protected]

Thank you for your patience and understanding while we carry out this work.

20/10/2026

Looking beneath the surface: Acoustic Imaging Survey coming to Waihi

OceanaGold Waihi has engaged Fleet Space Technologies to undertake an acoustic imaging survey across the Waihi area, including areas associated with the Waihi North Project. This first-of-its-kind survey for Waihi will help us better understand local geology and support future planning, without the need for digging or drilling.

What is Acoustic Imaging?
A useful way to think about acoustic imaging is as an ultrasound scan for the earth. Instead of using sound waves to look inside the human body, this survey uses controlled vibrations to help us understand what lies beneath the surface.

Controlled vibrations are sent into the ground using a portable electronic vi****or (eVibe). As the vibrations travel through rock layers, small wireless sensors called geophones record the returning signals. This information is then processed to build a detailed picture of the geology beneath the surface.

What can residents expect and when?
Work is scheduled to start in late October. The first thing you may notice is survey crews working around local streets and road reserves. They’ll be marking locations along the survey route using spray paint or biodegradable flagging tape before equipment is installed.

From mid-November, small sensors called geophones will be placed at regular intervals along the survey path. Once these are in place, the eVibe unit will be used along sections of road reserve to create controlled vibrations that help build a picture of the geology beneath the area.

The survey will move progressively through the area and take about a week to complete, with the overall programme expected to finish by late November, weather dependent.

On company-owned land, such as inside the Martha Pit, a different method will be used, with a weight dropped onto a metal plate to generate the required vibrations.

Traffic management will be in place whenever crews are working in the road reserve to help keep everyone safe.

You may notice surveyors, vehicles, sensors and other equipment around local streets during this time. However, it’s unlikely you’ll hear or feel the survey activity. While we anticipate minimal noise or vibration effects from these works, monitoring will still take place throughout the programme to ensure compliance with all relevant limits.

After the survey
Once the survey is complete, all sensors and equipment will be removed. The information collected will be combined with existing geophysical and drilling data to improve our understanding of local geological, hydrogeological, and geotechnical conditions.

At this stage, the survey is intended solely to improve our understanding of the area beneath Waihi and support future planning and decision-making. The results will not necessarily lead to additional drilling or mine development.

Want to know more?
As always, if you have any questions or concerns, please contact us:
Community Engagement Line: 0800 924 444
Project Information Office:
86 Seddon St., Waihi

To find out more about Acoustic Imaging, visit https://www.waihigold.co.nz/exploration/exploration-2026-acoustic-imaging/

19/10/2026

Community opinions about mining

From now through until the end of the year, if you live in the Waihi area you are invited to share your opinion on a few topics relating to mining. Look out for the survey link in the next ‘Update’ and have your say.

Independence
Each year we get an independent survey company to ask people how they think we are doing, what we can improve on, and how things are in Waihi in general. This year the survey is open to anyone in the wider Waihi area who wishes to take part.

Results and Anonymity
Results from the survey form part of the Social Impact Management Plan (SIMP), which is required as part of our consent conditions. The survey is anonymous. OceanaGold gets a table of the results, but any identifying details are first removed, meaning we don’t know who said what.

Have your say
We welcome your feedback and encourage you to participate. A survey like this is an important chance for you to “have your say”.

18/10/2026

Pit Rim Walkway Set for a Spring Refresh

From 20 October you may notice our team adding a fresh layer of gravel along sections of the Pit Rim Walkway. The work is expected to take about two weeks to complete, depending on the weather and other factors.

The walkway will remain open throughout the work, with spotters and signs in place around work areas.

Adding a fresh top layer of gravel to the path helps improve the walking surface, smooth out uneven areas, and improve drainage, keeping the walkway safe for everyone to use.

14/10/2026

WAIHI COLLEGE TRADES SCHOLARSHIP 2027

Are you a student at Waihi College and thinking of a pre-trade or apprenticeship in 2027?

The Waihi Gold Mining Education Trust is offering up to four $2,000 Trades scholarships. Any type of pre-trade or apprenticeship is eligible to apply.

See the poster for full details.

Waihi College

Address

43 Moresby Avenue
Waihi
3610

Telephone

+6478638192

Website

http://www.waihigold.co.nz/

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