OceanaGold Announces Didipio Project Award

29 January 2007

OceanaGold Announces Didipio Project EPCM Services Award

OceanaGold today announced that Ausenco Limited (ASX: AAX) (“Ausenco”) has been nominated as the Preferred Contractor for the Engineering, Procurement and Construction Management (EPCM) Services for the Didipio Gold/Copper Project in Northern Luzon, Philippines. This nomination follows competitive bidding, and is subject only to successful completion of contract negotiations with Ausenco.

The EPCM Services for the Didipio Project includes the following major components: • The engineering for a 2.5 million tonne per annum gold/copper flotation plant, including associated site infrastructure, crushing and grinding circuits, site roads, site preparation earthworks and other facilities • Procurement services for major equipment packages and materials required for construction • Construction management of the processing plant and site infrastructure,

The Didipio Gold and Copper Project will process sulphide ore at the Didipio Valley site, producing a gold/copper concentrate for shipment to a smelter for final processing. In addition a portion of the gold will be recovered in a gravity circuit on site and shipped as dore’ bars. The mine will be developed as an open cut operation for approximately the first 3.5 years, at which time production will transition to a sublevel caving underground operation. Production is expected to generate between 130-145 thousand gold ounces and 44 to 46 million pounds of copper per annum over a 15 year mine life. The Project is currently scheduled to commission by the beginning of 2009.

Ausenco was engaged in 2005 by the previous owners of the Didipio Project, Climax Mining, to complete the Feasibility Study and again in 2006 to prepare a detailed capital cost estimate for development of the Project’s processing plant and associated infrastructure.

Steve Orr, Chief Executive of OceanaGold, remarked that “Ausenco’s prior involvement and intimate knowledge of the Didipio Project has positioned it well for successful execution of OceanaGold’s first Project in the Philippines.

A significant portion of Ausenco’s activities will be conducted from their established office in Manila. This will provide excellent employment opportunities for mining professionals in the Philippines and complement our objective of providing employment for individuals from the local community at the Didipio Project”.

ENDS

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