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MELBOURNE, March 31, 2020 /CNW/ - OceanaGold Corporation
(TSX: OGC) (ASX: OGC) (the "Company") is pleased to provide
its updated annual Resource and Reserve ("R&R") statement for
the year ended December 31, 2019.
Highlights
- Total Proven and Probable Reserves of 5.3 Moz of gold, 3.5 Moz
of silver and 0.16 Mt of copper, with growth in gold reserves
offsetting approximately half of 2019 mining depletion.
- Total Measured and Indicated Resources increased by
approximately 0.80 Moz of gold year-on-year, net of mining
depletion.
- Inferred Resources increased approximately 0.7 Moz of gold
year-on-year, net of mining depletion largely due to first-time
reporting of an Inferred Resource of 0.6 Moz for the Palomino
underground deposit at Haile and an additional 0.3 Moz for the WKP
underground deposit near Waihi.
Michael Holmes, acting President
and CEO of OceanaGold said, "Since 2015, we have focused on
creating value for shareholders by investing in organic growth
initiatives including exploration. These investments have yielded
strong results, including the growth of Mineral Resources at the
Martha Underground at Waihi, the Horseshoe Underground at Haile,
and the discovery of additional resources at WKP in New Zealand."
"Since the acquisition of Waihi in 2015, our exploration team
have delivered outstanding results through drilling. We have
increased the mine life at the Correnso Underground and added
significant Indicated and Inferred Resources at both Martha and WKP
underground deposits."
"WKP is expected to compliment Martha Underground over the
long-term; it's a game-changing prospect that can leverage off our
existing infrastructure at Waihi. To-date, we have discovered 0.42
Moz gold in the Indicated Resource category and 0.72 Moz of gold in
the Inferred Resource category, at grades of 13 g/t and 12 g/t,
respectively."
As at December 31, 2019, the
Company's Proven and Probable ("P&P") Reserves stood at 5.3 Moz
of gold, 3.5 Moz of silver and 0.16 Mt of copper, representing on a
consolidated basis, a 0.25 Moz year-on-year decrease net of mining
depletion of 0.51 Moz in 2019. Drilling-related reserve growth,
largely for Macraes and Haile open pits, offset over half of 2019
company-wide mining depletion.
As at December 31, 2019, the
Company's Measured and Indicated ("M&I") Resources stood at 9.4
Moz of gold, 7.7 Moz of silver and 0.17 Mt of copper. On a
consolidated basis, the Company increased M&I Resources by 0.80
Moz, year-on-year net of mining depletion (0.51 Moz), mainly due to
drilling-related resource upgrades at the Waihi and Macraes
operations.
Consolidated Inferred Resources, year-on-year, increased by 0.7
Moz to 4.3 Moz of gold, while silver and copper resources were 3.9
Moz and 0.03 Mt, respectively. Increase to total Inferred Resources
include the first-time inclusion of an underground Inferred
Resource for Palomino at Haile in the USA and increases due to drilling-related
resource upgrades for WKP at Waihi and Round Hill / Golden
Point at Macraes in New
Zealand. These increases are over and above the successful
conversion of Inferred Resources to Indicated Resources.
New Zealand
Waihi
Combined open pit and underground P&P Reserves at Waihi as
at December 31, 2019, stood at 0.10
Moz gold after mine depletion.
As at December 31, 2019, the Waihi
M&I Resources stood at 1.4 Moz gold, representing a
year-on-year increase of 0.6 Moz as drilling at Martha Underground
and WKP continued to define and upgrade additional resources. Refer
to news releases related to the Martha Underground and WKP resource
updates published on February 13,
2020 and February 24, 2020,
respectively.
The waterfall chart in Figure 5 illustrates an approximate 0.6
Moz year-on-year increase in Measured and Indicated Resources, most
of which was from upgrading Inferred Resources through infill
drilling during 2019. As at December 31,
2019, the Waihi Inferred Resources stood at 1.3 Moz gold.
This represents a 0.3 Moz increase at the Martha Underground and
WKP projects, net of Inferred Resources that were upgraded to
Indicated during 2019.
Notwithstanding the current suspension of exploration activities
due to the New Zealand Government's order to temporarily suspend
all "non-essential" business, the Company expects continued
drilling at the Martha Underground with a focus on resource
conversion later in the year. The Company has an additional
exploration target of six to eight million tonnes with grades
ranging from four to six grams per tonne within the Martha
Underground project. This exploration target is based on the
assessment of surface and underground drilling data collected by
the Company in addition to the significant amount of historical and
archived geological and mining data from over a century of mining
activity at Waihi. The exploration target is conceptual in nature
and exploration completed on this target to date is not sufficient
to define an additional Mineral Resource above what has been
reported. Drilling of this target is expected to continue for the
next several years.
Macraes
As at December 31, 2019, the
P&P Reserves for Macraes stood at 1.1 Moz gold, with 1.0 Moz in
the open pit and 0.06 Moz of gold in the Frasers Underground.
Year-on-year drilling-related reserve growth has offset much of the
2019 mining depletion.
As at December 31, 2019, the
Macraes M&I Resources stood at 3.5 Moz of gold, including 0.37
Moz in Frasers Underground. The year-on-year net increase in
M&I Resources was due both to drilling-related open pit
resource growth as well as lowered open pit cut-off grade, which
was lowered from 0.4 g/t to 0.3 g/t Au, reflecting low cost
stockpile processing scheduled in the latter years of the
operation. Reductions (see adjustments in Figure 8) in Frasers
Underground resources reflect the removal of resource in areas
deemed too costly to access.
As at December 31, 2019, Macraes
Inferred Resources stood at 0.9 Moz of gold, an increase from the
previous year, due mainly to lowered cut-off grade which was
partially offset by mining depletion and upgrading of Inferred
Resources to the Indicated category. The Company will continue to
drill multiple targets along the Hyde-Macraes Shear Zone with a
focus on Golden Point Underground.
Reefton
In December 2016, the Company
announced the closure of the Reefton Mine and as a result,
associated resources were removed from the Company's inventory.
Resources for the nearby Blackwater Project remain on the
Company's inventory and remain unchanged from EOY 2018 reported
resources.
United States
Haile
P&P Reserves totalled 2.9 Moz of gold including 0.44 Moz of
gold in the Horseshoe Underground. Total Mineral Reserves have
reduced by 0.17 Moz net of resource growth, due to open pit mining
depletion and to a lesser extent, application of TSF construction
costs. The open pit cut-off grade has increased to 0.5 g/t from
0.45 g/t Au and resulted in a small reduction in the size of the
reserve pit design.
As at December 31, 2019, total
Haile M&I Resources stood at 3.1 Moz of gold, including 0.49
Moz for the Horseshoe underground. Year-on-year resource
growth offset mining depletion.
Year-on-year, Inferred Resources have increased by approximately
0.5 Moz due to the addition of the underground Inferred Resource
for the Palomino deposit. For 2020, the Haile exploration program
will focus mainly on infill drilling within the open pit
operations.
First time reporting of the Palomino Underground Inferred
Resource, Haile Gold Mine
Palomino is located on a mineralised trend one kilometre
southwest of the Horseshoe reserve (Figure 13). A total of 21
mineralised HQ and NQ diamond core holes have been drilled at the
Palomino deposit and have been previously reported (see OceanaGold
homepage). Half core samples of 1 to 3 metre lengths were dried,
bagged and transported to an independent sample preparation
facility, crushed to 2mm, riffle split and pulverised to 90%
passing 150 mesh. A 30gm aliquot was then fire assayed with an
Atomic Absorption finish.
Drilling to-date defines a mineralised package approximately 300
metres long with a 50-100 metre vertical extent by 100-150 metres
wide (Figure 14). Lozenge-shaped mineralised zones that
strike east-northeast, dip moderately northwest and plunge gently
northeast are identified within this package. The style of
mineralisation is similar to the Horseshoe deposit with thick zones
of fine-grain gold hosted by pyritic and silicified siltstone and
intrusive rocks. The northeast margin of Palomino is bound by a
barren, sub-vertical NNW-striking diabase dike while the southeast
margin of Palomino is defined by the 70-750 SSE-dipping
siltstone-dacite contact.
The estimate is based on an updated geological interpretation
and a gold indicator shell. Grades were estimated by ordinary
kriging into 5m x 5m x 5m blocks,
rotated to align with the dominant foliation fabric and strike of
mineralisation. The Inferred classification is based on an average
40m x 70m drill hole spacing.
High level mine designs and economic and sensitivity analyses
were subsequently completed. Recoveries through the Haile
processing plant of 85% were assumed. This work has provided the
basis for reporting an underground Palomino Inferred Resource of
6.5 Mt @ 2.8 g/t Au for 0.6 Moz at a 1.49 g/t Au cut-off.
Philippines
Didipio
As at December 31, 2019, Didipio
P&P Reserves stood at 1.3 Moz of gold, 2.7 Moz of silver and
0.16 Mt of copper, a small year-on-year increase net of mining
depletion. The increase is largely due to lowered reserve reporting
cut-off grade (0.87 g/t AuEq cut-off) in areas adjacent to
development planned to access higher grade stoping areas (1.34 g/t
AuEq cut-off). The reserves include 23 Mt of low and medium grade
open pit stockpiles, 5.3 Mt of which are based upon a 0.27 g/t AuEq
cut-off, the remainder based on an approximate 0.4 g/t AuEq
cut-off.
As at December 31, 2019, Didipio
M&I Resources stood at 1.4 Moz of gold, 2.9 Moz of silver and
0.17 Mt of copper, a moderate year-on-year increase net of mining
depletion. The increase is largely due to lowered resource
reporting cut-off grade (0.76 g/t AuEq cut-off) in areas adjacent
to development planned to access higher grade stoping areas (1.16
g/t AuEq cut-off). This reporting reflects the revised mine design.
The resources include 23 Mt of low and medium grade open pit
stockpiles.
Inferred Resources stood at 0.3 Moz of gold, 0.5 Moz of silver
and 0.03 Mt of copper, a small year-on-year decrease related
largely to infill drilling and upgrading of Inferred Resources to
Indicated Resources.
Other
OceanaGold's interest in the Sam's Creek project in New Zealand remains unchanged at 20%.
As part of the requirements under the listing rules of the
Australian Stock Exchange, the Company has filed a separate
document containing the material summaries and JORC Table 1
information related to the resource and reserves. Material
summaries and JORC Table 1 are not required under National
Instrument 43-101. Readers are referred to the ASX website at
www.asx.com.au or OceanaGold website at
http://www.oceanagold.com/investor-centre/filings/ to view material
summaries and JORC Table1.
Authorised for release to market by OceanaGold Corporate Company
Secretary, Liang Tang.
www.oceanagold.com | Twitter:
@OceanaGold
About OceanaGold
OceanaGold Corporation is a mid-tier, high-margin, multinational
gold producer with assets located in the
Philippines, New Zealand
and the United States. The
Company's assets encompass the Didipio Gold-Copper Mine located on
the island of Luzon in the
Philippines. On the North Island of New Zealand, the Company operates the
high-grade Waihi Gold Mine while on the South Island of
New Zealand, the Company operates
the largest gold mine in the country at the Macraes Goldfield which
is made up of a series of open pit mines and the Frasers
underground mine. In the United
States, the Company operates the Haile Gold Mine, a
top-tier, long-life, high-margin asset located in South Carolina. OceanaGold also has a
significant pipeline of organic growth and exploration
opportunities in the Americas and Asia-Pacific regions.
OceanaGold has operated sustainably since 1990 with a proven
track-record for environmental management and community and social
engagement. The Company has a strong social license to operate and
works collaboratively with its valued stakeholders to identify and
invest in social programs that are designed to build capacity and
not dependency.
For 2020, the Company expects to produce between 360,000 and
380,000 ounces of gold from Haile, Waihi and Macraes combined at a
consolidated All-In Sustaining Costs ranging from $1,075 to $1,125
per ounce sold.
Technical Disclosure
All Mineral Reserves and Mineral Resources were calculated as at
December 31, 2019 and have been
calculated and prepared in accordance with the standards set out in
the Australasian Code for Reporting of Exploration Results, Mineral
Resources and Ore Reserves dated December
2012 (the "JORC Code") and in accordance with National
Instrument 43-101 of the Canadian Securities Administrators ("NI
43-101"). The JORC Code is the accepted reporting standard for the
Australian Stock Exchange Limited ("ASX").
The definitions of Ore Reserves and Mineral Resources as set
forth in the JORC Code have been reconciled to the definitions set
forth in the CIM Definition Standards. If the Mineral Reserves and
Mineral Resources were estimated in accordance with the definitions
in the JORC Code, there would be no substantive difference in such
Mineral Reserves and Mineral Resources.
Any updates of Mineral Resources for Macraes and Blackwater have
been verified and approved by S. Doyle while the updates of Mineral
Resources for Waihi have been verified and approved by, or are
based on information prepared by, or under the supervision of, P.
Church. The updates of Mineral Resources for Haile open pit have
been verified and approved by, or are based on information prepared
by, or under the supervision of, J. G. Moore. The updates of Mineral Resources for
Haile underground and Didipio underground have been verified and
approved by, or are based on information prepared by, or under the
supervision of, T. O'Sullivan. The updates of Mineral Reserves for
Haile open pits have been verified and approved by, or are based on
information prepared by, or under the supervision of, G. Hollett,
the Mineral Reserves for Haile underground have been verified and
approved by or are based upon information prepared by, or under the
supervision of T. Cooney. The updates of Mineral Reserves for
Macraes open pits have been verified and approved by, or are based
on information prepared by, or under the supervision of, P Doelman,
the Mineral Reserves for Macraes underground have been verified and
approved by or are based upon information prepared by, or under the
supervision of, T. Cooney, while the Mineral Reserves for Waihi
have been verified and approved by, or are based on information
prepared by, or under the supervision of, T. Maton for open pit and
David Townsend for underground. The
Mineral Reserves for Didipio have been verified and approved by, or
are based on information prepared by, or under the supervision of,
P. Jones.
Messrs, Church, Doyle, Doelman, Maton and Townsend are full-time
employees of the Company's subsidiary, Oceana Gold (New
Zealand) Limited. Messrs Cooney, Hollett, Jones,
Moore and O'Sullivan are full-time
employees of the Company's subsidiary, OceanaGold Management Pty
Limited. Both OceanaGold (Philippines) Inc. and Haile Gold Mine Inc. are
subsidiaries of the Company. G. Hollett is a Professional Engineer
(P.Eng) registered with Engineers
and Geoscientists of British
Columbia (P.Eng). Messrs Church, Cooney, Doelman, Doyle,
Jones, Maton, Moore and Townsend
are Members and Chartered Professionals with the Australasian
Institute of Mining. T. O'Sullivan is a member of the Australian
Institute of Geoscientists. All such persons are "qualified
persons" for the purposes of NI 43-101 and have sufficient
experience relevant to the style of mineralisation and type of
deposit under consideration and to the activity which they are
undertaking to qualify as a "competent person" as defined in the
JORC Code.
Messrs Church, Cooney, Doelman, Doyle, Hollett, Jones, Maton,
Moore, O'Sullivan and Townsend
consent to inclusion in this public release of the matters based on
their information in the form and context in which it appears. The
estimates of Mineral Resources and Mineral Reserves contained in
this public release are based on, and fairly represent, information
and supporting documentation prepared by the named qualified and
competent persons in the form and context in which it appears.
The estimates of Mineral Resources and Reserves contained in
this public release are based on, and fairly represent, information
and supporting documentation prepared by the named qualified and
competent persons in the form and context in which it appears.
For further scientific and technical information supporting the
disclosure in this media release (including disclosure regarding
Mineral Resources and Mineral Reserves, data verification, key
assumptions, parameters, and methods used to estimate the Mineral
Resources and Mineral Reserves, and risk and other factors)
relating to the Didipio Gold-Copper Mine, the Macraes Mine, the
Haile Gold Mine the Waihi Gold Mine and the Blackwater project,
please refer to the following NI 43-101 compliant technical reports
and the Blackwater Preliminary Economic Assessment released on
21 October 2014 available at
www.sedar.com under the Company's name:
a)
|
"Technical Report for
the Macraes Project located in the Province of Otago, New Zealand"
dated February 12, 2010, prepared by R. Redden, Development and
Technical Services Manager, and J.G. Moore, Group Mine Geology
Manager, both of Oceana Gold (New Zealand) Limited (the "Macraes
Technical Report");
|
b)
|
"Technical Report for
the Reefton Project located in the Province of Westland, New
Zealand" dated May 24, 2013, prepared by K. Madambi, Technical
Services Manager of Oceana Gold (New Zealand) Limited up until
January 2018 and J. G. Moore, Chief Geologist, of Oceana Gold (New
Zealand) Limited (the "Reefton Technical Report");
|
c)
|
"Technical Report for
the Didipio Gold / Copper Operation Luzon Island" dated October 29,
2014, prepared by Simon Griffiths, General Manager of Studies, of
Oceana Gold (New Zealand) Limited up until March 2017, J. G. Moore,
Chief Geologist, of Oceana Gold (New Zealand) Limited, and Michael
Holmes, Chief Operating Officer of OceanaGold Corporation (the
"Didipio Technical Report");
|
d)
|
"Technical Report for
the Waihi Gold Mine, New Zealand" dated March 28, 2019, prepared by
T. Maton, Study Manager, D. Townsend, Technical Service
Superintendent, D. Carr, Chief Metallurgist and P. Church,
Principal Resource Development Geologist, all of Oceana Gold (New
Zealand) Limited (the "Waihi Technical Report"); and
|
e)
|
"Technical Report
Haile Gold Mine Lancaster County, South Carolina" dated August 9,
2017, prepared by, David Carr, Bruce Van Brunt, John Jory, Paul
Howe, Joanna Poeck, Jeff Osborn, Jay Newton Janney-Moore, John
Tinucci, Bret C. Swanson, Derek Kinakin, Grant Malensek, David
Bird, Bart A. Stryhas, Brian S. Prosser (the "Haile Technical
Report").
|
Cautionary Note Regarding Mineral Resources and Mineral
Reserves
The Company's disclosure of Mineral Reserve and Mineral Resource
information is governed by NI 43-101 under the guidelines set out
in the Canadian Institute of Mining, Metallurgy and Petroleum (the
"CIM") Standards on Mineral Resources and Mineral Reserves, adopted
by the CIM Council, as may be amended from time to time by the CIM
("CIM Standards"). The disclosure of Mineral Reserve and Mineral
Resource information for properties held by the Company is based on
the reporting requirements of the JORC Code. CIM definitions of the
terms "Mineral Reserve", "Proven Mineral Reserve", "Probable
Mineral Reserve", "Mineral Resource", "Measured Mineral Resource",
"Indicated Mineral Resource" and "Inferred Mineral Resource", are
substantially similar to the JORC Code corresponding definitions of
the terms "Ore Reserve", "Proved Ore Reserve", "Probable Ore
Reserve", "Mineral Resource", "Measured Mineral Resource",
"Indicated Mineral Resource" and "Inferred Mineral Resource",
respectively. Estimates of Mineral Resources and Mineral Reserves
prepared in accordance with the JORC Code would not be materially
different if prepared in accordance with the CIM definitions
applicable under NI 43-101.
There can be no assurance that those portions of such Mineral
Resources that are not Mineral Reserves will ultimately be
converted into Mineral Reserves. Mineral Resources are not Mineral
Reserves and do not have demonstrated economic viability. All
Mineral Reserves are within the Mineral Resource.
Cautionary Statement for Public Release
Certain information contained in this public release may be
deemed "forward-looking" within the meaning of applicable
securities laws. Forward-looking statements and information relate
to future performance and reflect the Company's expectations
regarding the generation of free cash flow, execution of
business strategy, future growth, future production, estimated
costs, results of operations, business prospects and opportunities
of OceanaGold Corporation and its related subsidiaries. Any
statements that express or involve discussions with respect to
predictions, expectations, beliefs, plans, projections, objectives,
assumptions or future events or performance (often, but not always,
using words or phrases such as "expects" or "does not expect", "is
expected", "anticipates" or "does not anticipate", "plans",
"estimates" or "intends", or stating that certain actions, events
or results "may", "could", "would", "might" or "will" be taken,
occur or be achieved) are not statements of historical fact and may
be forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are
subject to a variety of risks and uncertainties which could cause
actual events or results to differ materially from those expressed
in the forward-looking statements and information. They include,
among others, the accuracy of Mineral Reserve and resource
estimates and related assumptions, inherent operating risks and
those risk factors identified in the Company's most recent Annual
Information Form prepared and filed with securities regulators
which is available on SEDAR at www.sedar.com under the Company's
name. There are no assurances the Company can fulfil
forward-looking statements and information. Such forward-looking
statements and information are only predictions based on current
information available to management as of the date that such
predictions are made; actual events or results may differ
materially as a result of risks facing the Company, some of which
are beyond the Company's control. Although the Company
believes that any forward-looking statements and information
contained in this press release is based on reasonable assumptions,
readers cannot be assured that actual outcomes or results will be
consistent with such statements. Accordingly, readers should not
place undue reliance on forward-looking statements and information.
The Company expressly disclaims any intention or obligation to
update or revise any forward-looking statements and information,
whether as a result of new information, events or otherwise, except
as required by applicable securities laws. The information
contained in this release is not investment or financial product
advice.
SOURCE OceanaGold Corporation