Oceana Gold’s Waihi North Project has cleared a key procedural hurdle. The Environmental Protection Authority (EPA) deemed its fast-track application complete. The project now moves to an expert panel for assessment, bypassing the standard Resource Management Act (RMA) process.
The mining company has confirmed it will withdraw its original RMA application, instead progressing under the Government’s new Fast-track consenting legislation introduced earlier this year. The full application will be made publicly available via the EPA website.
Alison Paul, OceanaGold’s Senior Vice President for New Zealand Legal and Public Affairs, welcomed the development:
“We are pleased to be an early applicant under the new consenting process through Fast-track, which streamlines permitting while maintaining the same high environmental and social standards,” she said.
“We believe we have the expertise to operate an underground mine that is not just productive, but also environmentally and socially responsible.”
The Waihi North Project includes the proposed Wharekirauponga underground mine, which OceanaGold hopes to have fully permitted by late 2025. This will allow construction of tunnels and underground infrastructure to begin in 2026.
A December 2024 pre-feasibility study forecast a combined $3.4 billion investment over 15 years of operation. The Wharekirauponga mine alone is expected to generate more than $5 billion in export revenue, with around 1,000 jobs tied to the project. Approximately 80% of that investment is projected to remain within New Zealand, with over 30% in the Hauraki District.
This year, around $70 million in early works, unrelated to the fast-track approval, are planned.
However, the project has drawn criticism from conservation groups, iwi, and environmental advocates due to its presence within the Coromandel Forest Park.
The proposed Wharekirauponga underground mine shares habitat critical to the survival of endangered native species, including the Archey’s frog—one of the world’s most evolutionarily distinct and globally endangered amphibians.
Critics argue that the fast-track process limits public participation and sidesteps the rigorous environmental scrutiny usually required under the RMA.
Despite this, OceanaGold has committed to accessing the mine via an underground tunnel starting outside the forest boundary and has pledged to deliver environmental gains through a dedicated biodiversity project.
Paul said community engagement and maintaining high operational standards remain central to OceanaGold’s approach.
“It’s important to us that we continue to support economic growth, high-paying jobs and exports, while also making a positive contribution to the environment and local communities.”
The Waihi North application is one of the first significant projects to progress under the new Fast-track regime and is being closely watched by environmental groups, local iwi, and economic development stakeholders alike.
For more information about the project, visit: www.waihinorth.info
To view the Fast-track application: www.fasttrack.govt.nz/projects/waihi-north
