OceanaGold (TSX: OGC, OTCQX: OCANF) has reported another solid round of drill results from its $10 million exploration program at the Haile Gold Mine in South Carolina, underscoring the mine’s potential for resource growth and underground mining opportunities. The company is seeing high-grade intercepts across both established zones and new discoveries, all situated near existing infrastructure and supporting a longer mine life.
At Ledbetter Phase 4, which is within the final phase of the current open-pit mineral reserve, resource conversion drilling is progressing well. A key hole, DDH1279, returned 28.9 meters at 18.33 grams per tonne (g/t) gold from 489.1 meters depth, including a high-grade segment of 1.3 meters at 189.22 g/t. Another hole, DDH1281, showed 8.7 meters at 22.30 g/t with 5.0 meters at 35.86 g/t within that interval. These results underpin a trade-off study evaluating whether an underground mine at Ledbetter would improve the project’s economics. The drill program so far totals nearly 2,000 meters across four holes for this zone.
The Horseshoe Underground zone is driving additional enthusiasm with more than 7,400 meters drilled since February 2025. Conversion drilling has delivered high-grade intervals such as 16.1 meters at 16.33 g/t from hole UGD0082, and 14.6 meters at 10.33 g/t from UGD0084, which included 3.1 meters at 37.14 g/t. Other notable intervals include 24.0 meters at 7.99 g/t (UGD0085) and 22.0 meters at 8.60 g/t (UGD0086), extending the mineralization southwest. Definition drilling is also ongoing, with holes like UGD0097 reporting intervals of 7.6 meters at 3.63 g/t and UGD0100 returning 5.0 meters at 5.64 g/t, targeting resource growth south and west of current zones.
Pisces is a comparatively new discovery between the Horseshoe and Palomino deposits, around 550 meters underground. Drilling at Pisces is shaping up quite well for an early-stage target. Hole DDH1271 yielded 7.6 meters at 10.39 g/t from 647 meters depth, while DDH1290 returned 6.6 meters at 3.34 g/t. These results align with earlier drilling in 2025, including a high-grade intercept of 9.4 meters at 44.14 g/t seen in hole DDH1269. The mineralized zone at Pisces now spans a strike length of 150 meters and remains open for further expansion.
Nearby, the Clydesdale target is in early exploration phases but already shows promise. Located about 100 meters northwest of Palomino and 800 meters below surface, hole DDH1282 returned 26.2 meters at 4.11 g/t, including 14.6 meters at 6.21 g/t. Drilling efforts at Clydesdale are continuing with an additional 1,800 meters planned for later in 2025.
OceanaGold President and CEO Gerard Bond emphasized the value of this exploration program, calling it an “excellent return on investment” that highlights the potential for low-risk, organic growth close to existing infrastructure.
Lab results are independently verified by certified labs with robust quality assurance, providing confidence in the accuracy of these reported assays. For those interested in diving deeper, OceanaGold offers detailed drill data tables and 3D visualizations through their VRIFY link.
These latest drill results illustrate how focused exploration and resource conversion at Haile continue to reveal opportunities to extend the mine’s life and enhance its economic outlook, mainly through underground development options and emerging discoveries within known mineralized corridors.
