Business Review Australia - March 2016_

MINING

http://www.oceanagold.com 37

includes more exploration and a
few more years. With the addition
of the Frasers Underground mine,
which is currently 740 meters below
surface and 200 meters below sea
level, including over 48 kilometers
of developed tunnel drives,
OceanaGold intends to continue
tapping the asset—despite low gold
prices.
“The vision at Macraes hasn’t
changed but the strategy has. We
needed to adapt to the changing
economic environment, and when
prices dropped in 2013, we were
able to quickly adjust,” said Wilkes.

“At Frasers, we’re chasing the

higher grade hanging walls where

we know we can mine profitably.

It’s a very efficient design and we

continue to chase higher grades and

zones at new depths.”

In the Philippines, OceanaGold

owns and operates the high grade

gold-copper mine, Didipio, located

on the island of Luzon north of

Manila. The operation is home to

roughly 1,800 Filipino employees,

with approximately 50 percent

derived from local communities in

the immediate vicinity of the mine.

According to Wilkes, OceanaGold

Macraes Processing Plant