On 18 December 2025, the Fast-track panel approved OceanaGold's Waihi North Project — the first major mining approval under the regime. Decision time: 112 working days from panel commencement.
The approval extends OceanaGold's Waihi operations through to 2043, with three resource expansions (Wharekirauponga, Gladstone Open Pit, Martha Pit underground).
Headline numbers
- $5.2 billion in gold and silver exports over the project life
- 800 jobs sustained
- $422 million in Crown revenue (royalties + taxes)
- ~5 million ounces of gold-equivalent recoverable
Why this matters
Waihi North is the first decision that genuinely tested the natural resources limb of s.22 at scale. Mining is politically contested and the regime had to demonstrate it could deliver a resource-sector approval cleanly.
The panel cleared it on three limbs:
- Natural resources — extraction of critical and strategic minerals
- Economic benefit — at this dollar value and job count, no contest
- Regional infrastructure — local water and roading commitments
What it engaged in parallel: Crown Minerals Act access permits, Conservation Act considerations, Heritage NZ Pouhere Taonga Act sites, Wildlife Act protected species. The one-stop-shop architecture of the regime was specifically designed for projects like this, where pre-2024 consent stacking could take 5+ years.
Conditions
The panel imposed comprehensive conditions on:
- Tailings storage integrity
- Mine closure and rehabilitation bonds
- Water take and discharge limits
- Cultural monitoring during construction
- Heritage Whakatāne Pouhere Taonga concession compliance
Critically, the panel attached performance bonds for rehabilitation — a model now likely to extend to all major mining approvals under the regime.
What it signals
Mining applicants now have a working precedent. Three lessons:
The benefit case must be specific. OceanaGold's submission had unit-economic detail: tonnes, grade, recovery, capex, opex, royalty rates. Vague "economic benefit" claims do not clear at this scale.
Cultural workstream is non-negotiable. Waihi has long-standing iwi relationships through Hauraki settlement processes. New entrants need to build this from day one — covered in our [cultural impact piece](/blog/cultural-impact-assessment-do-this-in-month-one).
Conditions design matters more than ever. The panel will not decline a credible benefit case, but it will load conditions until adverse effects are managed. Mining applicants should arrive with their own draft conditions — not leave it to the panel.
[Beehive release](https://www.beehive.govt.nz/release/major-fast-track-mining-project-approved) — 18 December 2025.