OceanaGold Corp. (TSX: OGC; ASX: OGC) has published an initial resource estimate for its high-grade discovery at WKP, 10 km north of its Waihi gold mine in New Zealand.
WKP contains 234,000 ounces of gold and 296,000 ounces of silver in the East Graben vein contained within 0.41 million indicated tonnes grading 18 grams gold per tonne and 22.7 grams silver per tonne.
OceanaGold intends to drill 14,500 metres at WKP this year.Inferred resources in the East Graben and T-Stream veins add another 401,000 ounces of gold and 568,000 ounces of silver within 1.05 million tonnes averaging 11.9 grams gold per tonne and 16.8 grams silver per tonne. The resources were calculated at a cut-off grade of 3 grams gold per tonne.
The East Graben vein is one of three major veins the company has discovered at the project so far.
President and CEO Mick Wilkes said that while the work at WKP over the past three or four months has concentrated on resource definition drilling, the company has also identified a "much more extensive zone of mineralization over a current strike length of 1,000 metres that is open in both directions with a 200-metre vertical extent open for a further 100-200 metres up-dip." It has also discovered "significant high-grade footwall and hangingwall veins."
OceanaGold intends to drill 14,500 metres at WKP this year.
WKP and the Waihi gold mine are located on New Zealand's North Island.
OceanaGold's other assets include the Macraes Goldfield on New Zealand's South Island. In the U.S. it operates the Haile gold mine in South Carolina, and in the Philippines it owns the Didipio gold-copper mine on the island of Luzon.
This year the company expects to produce between 500,000 and 550,000 ounces of gold and 14,000 to 15,000 tonnes of copper at all-in sustaining costs of between $850 and $900 per oz. sold.
This article first appeared in The Northern Miner.