By RNZ
OceanaGold has lodged a fast-track application to extend the life of its Macraes gold mine in Otago into the late 2030s.
The company says the project would add more than a decade to the life of New Zealand’s largest gold mine and support hundreds of jobs.
The company says its Macraes Phase Four project is not a new mine, but an extension and optimisation of the mine.
It says the proposal would expand existing open-pit and underground areas, revisit ground mined over the past 35 years, and process low-grade ore already stockpiled on site.
OceanaGold says the project could produce an extra 1 million ounces of gold over more than 10 years, involve about $3.1 billion of spending, and sustain more than 760 direct jobs.
Senior vice-president for legal and public affairs Alison Paul said the project would deliver significant economic benefits for Otago and New Zealand.
She said the company had spent months talking with local and regional stakeholders, and that feedback had shaped the project design, including mitigation and ecological enhancement measures.
The application will first be checked for completeness, before being considered by an independent expert panel under the Fast-track Approvals Act.
Macraes Phase Four has already had a long consenting history.
OceanaGold previously lodged a wider MP4 application through the Resource Management Act in 2024 but later withdrew it after the Otago Regional Council granted separate consents allowing existing mining activities at Macraes to continue for another five years.
An Otago Regional Council staff report on the earlier application had recommended that it be declined, citing concerns about effects on water quality, aquatic ecology, biodiversity and cultural values.
A council audit in 2024 found repeated non-compliance with several environmental monitoring conditions at Macraes between 2019 and 2024.
- RNZ