OceanaGold Reports Exceptional High-Grade Drill Results at Wharekirauponga and Progress on Waihi North Project

OceanaGold Corporation (OGC) reported assay results from 16 drill holes completed across five drill sites at Wharekirauponga (WKP), located approximately 10 km north of its Waihi operation in New Zealand, since its April 1, 2026 release. The company classified all intervals as "Conversion" drilling, aimed at converting Inferred Mineral Resources to Indicated.

Headline intercepts, estimated as true width, included WKP146C with 6.3 m @ 97.2 g/t Au from 481.5 m (EG Vein); WKP150 with 8.5 m @ 41.5 g/t Au from 399.0 m (EG Vein); WKP146A with 9.6 m @ 18.5 g/t Au from 401.0 m (EG HW Veins); WKP146C with 6.6 m @ 24.0 g/t Au from 403.4 m, including 1.2 m @ 107.7 g/t Au (EG HW Veins); WKP146B with 5.9 m @ 25.9 g/t Au from 485.6 m (EG Vein); and WKP147A with 4.2 m @ 32.4 g/t Au from 602.9 m (EG Vein).

The full table also included weaker EG Vein holes: WKP148B with 9.9 m @ 3.7 g/t, WKP148D with 7.0 m @ 5.8 g/t, WKP148C with 5.5 m @ 6.0 g/t, WKP148A with 3.1 m @ 2.6 g/t, and WKP146D with 4.3 m @ 5.9 g/t, which had approximately 40% core recovery with unrecovered core zero-graded. Silver was reported separately in the table, such as WKP146C EG at 81.2 g/t Ag and WKP150 at 37.1 g/t Ag. No metal equivalents were used. Two holes, WKP144C and WKP124O, were expressly stated not to be new holes, representing residual intercepts from the April 1, 2026 release.

Regarding the Waihi North Project, decline development has advanced approximately 350 m since May 2026. A first ventilation shaft is under construction, and a second jumbo is expected in the first half of 2027 to begin the twin tunnel toward WKP. The water treatment plant began staged commissioning in September 2026, with surface facilities on track for year-end completion. Early works for TSF3 are expected in the fourth quarter of 2026.

An updated NI 43-101 technical report for the Waihi District is planned for January 2027. It will include updated Mineral Reserves and Mineral Resources, plus an evaluation of a processing plant expansion to 1.2 Mtpa, up from the 0.8 Mtpa contemplated in the prior technical report. This expansion would enable concurrent mining of Martha Underground and Wharekirauponga, and potentially extend MUG mining beyond 2033.

OceanaGold Corporation is an intermediate producer operating four mines with 222.5 million shares outstanding and a market capitalization of approximately C$8.8 billion. The company holds US$654.8 million in cash, carries zero debt, and has issued FY2026 guidance for 520–590 koz of gold production against group reserves of 5.83 moz.

Recent drill results from the Waihi project were classified as "Conversion" under the expectation-anchor framework, where the anchor for infill or resource-definition holes is the resource grade rather than prior high-grade intercepts. The Waihi Measured and Indicated (M&I) resource grade is 5.13 g/t, while the reserve grade stands at 6.76 g/t. The reported intervals ranged from 2.6 to 97.2 g/t, providing confirmation of the zone's substance relative to the resource grade.

Historical data from the same zone includes WKP137A, which reported 13.9 m @ 25.8 g/t (359 g·m, true width) on November 25, 2025, and WKP144B, which reported 14.9 m @ 16.3 g/t (243 g·m) on April 1, 2026. The April release noted that the southern high-grade zone spanned approximately 150 m in strike and averaged over 160 gram-metres across seven holes. The latest intercept, WKP146C, returned 612 g·m, exceeding previous results. Additionally, the EG Vein cluster of five holes returned grades between 136–353 g·m, confirming width and grade south of those locations.

OceanaGold’s stock closed at C$45.63 on April 1, 2026, following the prior drill release, and fell to C$39.44 on September 23, 2026, representing a decline of approximately 14%. The share price remains roughly 33% below its 52-week high of C$59.20. The equity has drifted from its February 2026 peak, suggesting the market is not currently pricing in the drilling results.

The financial impact of these results is expected to crystallize in the January 2027 Waihi District technical report, which will update reserves and resources, as well as in plant-expansion and MUG-life-extension evaluations. Even a generous conversion outcome for the southern high-grade zone would add only a few hundred thousand ounces of high-grade gold to the group’s 5.83 moz of reserves. The Waihi district is already valued with a US$621 million after-tax net present value (NPV) in the public Preliminary Feasibility Study (PFS). Against an equity value of approximately US$6.2 billion, this represents single-digit-percent NAV arithmetic at best, and the value is partly already assumed by the permitted, funded, 2032-producing WKP reserve of 1.21 moz.

The best intercept on the company’s highest-grade growth asset was 97.2 g/t over 6.3 m true width. While this configuration of unpriced good news near the lower half of the stock’s range could serve as a confirmation point if WKP becomes the pipeline’s tier-one orebody, it does not constitute a market-moving event at the current market capitalization.

The release does not change FY2026 guidance, cost structure, cash generation, or any reserve tonnage until the year-end statement and the January 2027 report. The Waihi North Project permit appeal risk flagged in the Q2 2026 Management’s Discussion and Analysis (MD&A) remains untouched.

OceanaGold Corporation (NYSE: OGC) is a global intermediate gold and copper producer operating four mines: Haile in South Carolina, USA (100%); Macraes and Waihi in New Zealand (100%); and Didipio in the Philippines (80%). The company listed on the NYSE on April 7, 2026, and continues to trade on the TSX under the ticker OGC.

As of December 31, 2025, OceanaGold reported proven and probable reserves of 113.0 million tonnes grading 1.60 g/t for 5.83 million ounces of gold and 9.5 million ounces of silver. Measured and indicated resources stand at 150.5 million tonnes grading 1.78 g/t for 8.63 million ounces of gold, while inferred resources total 48.0 million tonnes grading 1.6 g/t for 2.5 million ounces of gold. The Waihi mine alone holds 1.64 million ounces of reserves at 6.76 g/t and 3.08 million ounces of measured and indicated resources at 5.13 g/t. The Wharekirauponga project contributes 1.21 million ounces to the reserve total.

According to the Q2 2026 filing, gold production reached 138.8 thousand ounces in the second quarter, a 7% increase quarter-over-quarter and a 16% increase year-over-year. Copper production was 2.7 kilotonnes. The company reported revenue of US$647.3 million, a net profit of US$222.2 million, and earnings per share of US$0.99. Adjusted EBITDA margin reached a record 61%, with operating cash flow of US$314 million and free cash flow of US$130.1 million. The company holds US$654.8 million in cash, carries zero debt, and has an undrawn US$200 million revolver. With a book value of approximately US$11.4 per share and 222.5 million shares outstanding, H1 2026 free cash flow totaled US$385 million. Financing outflows of US$202.8 million included US$134.2 million in buybacks and dividends.

Management has maintained its FY2026 guidance, projecting gold production between 520,000 and 590,000 ounces, all-in sustaining costs (AISC) between US$1,750 and US$1,900 per ounce, and total capital investment of US$645 million, which includes a US$60 million exploration budget. Management expects Q3 production to be similar to Q2, with Q4 being the strongest quarter, and anticipates AISC to decline sequentially while landing near the upper end of the range.

The company’s growth pipeline includes the Waihi North and Wharekirauponga project, which was permitted in December 2025 with a decline under construction and first production expected in 2032. The Palomino Underground project at Haile is scheduled for first ore in 2028, followed by Ledbetter Underground in 2029. Macraes Phase 4 is undergoing a fast-track permit application to extend mine life to the late 2030s. Additionally, the pending acquisition of Ausgold, located in Katanning, Western Australia, requires A$355 million in pre-production capital, is expected to deliver first gold in 2029, and would result in 6–8% dilution to OceanaGold shareholders.