OceanaGold has formally lodged its fast-track application for a major expansion of the Macares gold mine in Otago, targeting one million ounces of gold, worth about $7.5 billion at current prices.
The project could extend the mine’s life into the late 2030s. OceanaGold said existing resources and higher prices made further exploration attractive. It will spend $3.1 billion on the expansion, while supporting 760 direct jobs and thousands more indirectly across the region.
Without expansion, the mine would wind down from 2027 with final closure by 2030. Elsewhere, Christchurch’s Meadowfresh has completed a $100 million expansion to boost production for export and create dozens of jobs.
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Where will the gold go?
Probably overseas if the Uni-Parties have their way.
When the NZ Loyal Party arrives in office, the gold will be placed exclusively in the hands of the NZ Treasury, and will NOT be transferred to the Reserve Banks, or to overseas holding entities!
The corporates rush in and the gold troy ounces, our inheritance, rush offshore.
Placing gold with the NZ Treasury assumes that we have a government operating for the greater good, which is a delusion. When the sovereign debt crisis hits, the gold and other govt assets will be sold off to pay interest. That’s after they tax us into oblivion first and confiscate our assets. The majority of govt borrowing is to pay off debt that already exists. We’re heading into the end game and the successive idiots in govt that brought us to this point are the LAST ones that will solve the problem.