Oceanagold Announces Full Year 2012 Results

14 February 2013

Oceanagold Announces Full Year 2012 Results

(All references in US Dollars)

(MELBOURNE) OceanaGold Corporation (ASX: OGC, TSX: OGC, NZX: OGC) (the “Company”) today released its fourth quarter and full year 2012 results for the year ended December 31, 2012. Details of the consolidated financial statements and the Management Discussion and Analysis (MDA) are available on the Company’s website at www.oceanagold.com.

Key highlights include:
• Fourth quarter production of 76,844 ounces of gold, a 55% increase from the third quarter 2012. Full year production of 232,909 ounces of gold which exceeded the Company’s 2012 production guidance range of 225,000 to 230,000 ounces.
• Fourth quarter gold sales were 69,761 ounces and cash costs were $638 per ounce. For full year 2012 gold sales were 230,119 ounces resulting in cash costs of $940 per ounce sold, which was lower than the cost guidance range.
• Commissioning of Didipio continues to advance well with the plant achieving higher than expected throughput rates and better recoveries to date. First copper/gold concentrate was produced in December 2012 and first shipment of concentrate trucked to port in January 2013.

The Company’s strong fourth quarter results were driven by a solid performance from the New Zealand operations. The increase in production was a result of mining higher grade ore at both Macraes and Reefton operations. The quarter on quarter increase in gold ounces sold and lower expenses were the main factors for significantly lower cash costs in the fourth quarter. The substantial increase in cash operating margin in the fourth quarter was a result of the higher ounces of gold sold, lower operating costs and higher average price of gold received.

In December, the Company successfully completed a “Bought Deal” equity raising for gross proceeds of C$93.3 million with the net proceeds to be used to reduce outstanding debt and provide balance sheet and operating flexibility.
In the Philippines, the Didipio Project in northern Luzon continued to advance well during 2012 with all key milestones achieved on schedule. In December 2012, the Company announced production of the first saleable copper-gold concentrate and subsequent to the year end, the first shipment of concentrate was trucked to port.

Commissioning activities continue to progress well with mill throughput rates having approached 2.5Mtpa, exceeding expectations. In late January, modifications were identified for the long-term reliability of the plant. These modifications were completed and the process plant was subsequently brought back online in early February.

The Company spent $14.9 million on its exploration program in 2012 with the majority of this expenditure being spent in New Zealand. During the year, the Company continued to drill out the Blackwater deposit with favourable results consistent with the range of grade and width in the old workings. The final drill hole of the program is currently underway and results of this drill are expected in the first half of 2013.

OceanaGold Managing Director and CEO, Mick Wilkes said, “We are very pleased with our performance in 2012. New Zealand operations had a strong fourth quarter as planned and Didipio continued to achieve each key milestone on schedule including the start of commissioning in October and the completion of construction in December. We’ve continued that momentum into 2013, which is a transformational year for our Company as we ramp-up commissioning at Didpio and transition into steady-state operations. The focus of commissioning activities is now on increasing copper and gold recoveries and ramp-up of the plant throughput. We are on track to deliver on expectations to mill 2.5 Mt at Didipio in 2013.”

Conference Call / Webcast
The Company will host a conference call / webcast to discuss the results at 8:30am on Friday 15 February 2013 (Melbourne, Australia time) / 4:30pm on Thursday 14 February (Toronto, Canada time). Details are available on the home page on the OceanaGold website at www.oceanagold.com

Webcast Participants
To register, please copy and paste the link below into your browser:
http://event.on24.com/r.htm?e=565560&s=1&k=FC1F98ECAEA5F711F3D3E7103FB92153

Teleconference Participants (required for those who wish to ask questions)
Local (toll free) dial in numbers are:
Australia: 1 800 148 052
New Zealand: 0 800 441 017
Canada & North America: 1 888 390 0605
All other countries (toll): + 1 416 764 8609

Playback of Webcast
If you are unable to attend the call, a recording will be available for viewing on the company’s website from 11:30am on Friday 15 February (Melbourne, Australia time) / 7.30pm on Thursday 14 February (Toronto, Canada time).

- ENDS –

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