Oceana announced in March it would seek resource consent for the Martha project, which is largely underground but includes some surface mining
adjacent to Waihi township.
Some underground mining directly beneath the township has already been done, under other projects.
The Martha pit has been closed since April 2015, after a slip on its north face, but Oceana continued to work its underground Correnso mine, which extracted 119,084oz of gold in calendar 2017.
The Martha project has been estimated to extend the Waihi mine life by 10 years, and possibly 1million ounces of gold to be mined, which would, on average, provide 350 full-time jobs year round. Last week, Oceana told Waihi residents the Hauraki District Council would publicly notify the project consent application.
After submissions there would be a council hearing, then a decision. Oceana said if there was to be an Environment Court hearing, it would ‘‘likely’’ take place next year, a decision made late in the year.
