The green light recently given for Oceana Gold’s expansion has not only ensured continued employment in the North Island town of Waihi but has also opened property investment opportunities.

In October 2019 Oceana Gold received the go-ahead to increase its underground mine and buy 180 hectares to create ponds for its gold mining tailings from newly discovered veins.

This extends the Waihi life of the mine by at least 10 years and gives 350 staff and contractors longer term assurance, with the economic spin-off benefitting the town generally.

As a result, the land and building at 1 Mueller St, Waihi tenanted by Oceana Gold (NZ) is for sale. The commercial property on a high-profile corner site is 1,012 square metres in size, with the building taking 470 square metres.

It is located near Martha Mine and the Cornish Pumphouse, close to the Waihi i-Site and Gold Discovery Centre. Oceana have the tenancy on the property for strategic reasons.

The property has a substantial glass frontage along the busy Mueller and Seddon Streets, with potential for signage and display. Earthquake strengthened to 75 percent of new build standards, the combined warehouse and retail space offers a solid hands-off investment.

It has a separate gated entrance off Mueller Street and the fenced yard area has been used as storage, staff and customer parking, and for deliveries.

The building is furnished with a mix of carpet and polished wood floors, a covered ceiling gives the feeling of a more traditional retail outlet. The warehouse area to the rear has exposed steel and timber framing and hardwearing timber floor.

Oceana Gold took out a new lease returning $41,600 a year net rental on March 15, 2019 for three years with rights of renewal every two years with final expiry in March 2026.

The property is being marketed for sale by auction on Thursday December 5, 2019 through Bayleys Hamilton. Salespeople Josh Smith and Daniel Keene said: “This is a chance to ‘strike gold’ with an easy-care investment in mine country.”

The tenant, Oceana Gold (New Zealand) took over from Newmont Waihi Gold in 2015 which opened in 1987 and has annually produced 100,000 ounces of gold and 700,000 ounces of silver since 1988.

Oceana is a multinational gold and copper producer with more than 24 years of operating sustainably in New Zealand, the Philippines and the United States. In Waihi it operates the Martha open pit, and the Correnso underground mine, and is engaged in further exploring the region.

The company boasts unwavering commitment to the environment and its host community to create opportunities build resilience and leave a long-lasting legacy beyond the mining life cycle.

The topographically diverse Waihi region includes the stunning beauty of the Karangahake Gorge, bush clad hills, and beautiful white sands of Waihi Beach. Waihi has a rich history in gold mining, evident in the relics through the Karangahake Gorge where miners by broke ground, to the Martha Hill Mine which is the mainstay of mining today.

Waihi is on the eastern side of the Coromandel Peninsula, approximately 143 kilometres from Auckland, 61kms from Tauranga, and 92kms from Hamilton. Travel time to Tauranga, Hamilton and Auckland is one to two hours in normal traffic.

The Auckland, Bay of Plenty and Waikato Regions have been recording some of the strongest population increases and economic growth in New Zealand for several years with about half of New Zealand’s economic activity in these three regions.