"Community group wins court battle against multinational gold mining company", 23 April 2026

A community conservation group has won a legal victory against a multinational gold mining company, but the company says the ruling will not thwart its plans to tunnel under conservation land in the Coromandel.

Ours Not Mines has spent the past three years fighting OceanaGold's license to put vents on an unformed "paper road" for a proposed underground mine at Wharekirauponga that extends its operations in the Waihī area.

This week Ours Not Mines won in the Court of Appeal, voiding the license granted by the local council.

But according to OceanaGold, the consents they have under the government's Fast-track Approvals regime means it can forge ahead.

OceanaGold plans to tunnel 7km beneath Wharekirauponga, a forest park administered by the Department of Conservation, to extract gold and silver ore…

The paper road is legally designated as a public road, but it is indistinguishable from the surrounding forest and not easily accessible, even on foot…

But the Court of Appeal found the license was unlawful as it interfered with the public's right to access the road, overturning an earlier High Court decision.

Ours Not Mines co-founder, Morgan Donoghue, a prominent music industry figure, said he had a personal connection to the Coromandel.

… Chairperson Catherine Delahunty said the court's decision means OceanaGold cannot claim its underground mine will have no above-ground impacts on conservation land.

… OceanaGold senior vice president for Legal and Public Affairs, Alison Paul, was unavailable for an interview, but in a statement she said the mine, including an option for alternative vent locations, had already been approved…