Why OceanaGold is Entering Australian Mining
OceanaGold will acquire the Katanning gold project in Western Australia before 2027 after buying Ausgold for around US$549m.
This is the Canadian company’s first location in Australia, expanding on its existing mines in the US, New Zealand and the Philippines.
The deal will provide Ausgold shareholders with immediate premiums of 28% to the last closing price.
Gerard Bond, CEO of OceanaGold, says: “This marks our first acquisition in Australia, and we are excited to build on the great work done by the Ausgold team to further optimise the development of the Katanning project for the benefit of both OceanaGold and Ausgold shareholders.”
Plans for the Katanning project
Katanning is an open-pit development project that holds more than 100,000 ounces of annual gold production. It is located in a Tier-1 mining jurisdiction that sits approximately 275km southeast of Perth, Australia.
According to OceanaGold, the mine has more than 10 years of life potential.
The Canadian mining company has a technical office in Brisbane, which has multiple years of experience in Australian mining operations. OceanaGold says it will focus on optimising its mining initiatives and reducing execution risk once it has fully implemented its mining operations.
The company will begin additional drilling through 2027 and full gold production is expected to begin in 2029.
Australian gold mining
According to the World Gold Council, Australia produced 293.2 million tonnes of gold in 2025.
This was more than OceanaGold’s current locations, with the US producing 157 million tonnes, the Philippines generating 39.9 million and New Zealand tallying eight million.
Only China and Russia produced more gold than Australia according to the World Gold Council data.
Augold holds a consolidated landholding of more than 3,000 square kilometres across the mine’s greenstone belt, which OceanaGold described as largely underexplored.
OceanaGold’s growth
OceanaGold has been looking to add investment into its own operations, while also monitoring other mining companies.
In May 2026, Gerard revealed that OceanaGold has “plenty to invest inside our existing portfolio, but like everyone else we’re scanning assets outside as well”.
This was supported by the company’s 2026 Q2 results, seeing a 7% rise in gold production from the previous quarter.
OceanaGold produced 138,000 ounces of gold and 2,700 tonnes of copper during the second quarter of 2026.
