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OceanaGold believes that a safe work environment is paramount to effective operating performance. Our overall goal is to provide an incident-free and injury-free workplace and to maintain or improve the health and wellbeing of our workforce.

OceanaGold Corporation Health and Safety Policies
The Company's Health and Safety policies are being reviewed as part of the wider Sustainability Policy Review that is currently occurring in 2008.

Health and Safety Management
OceanaGold believes that a safe work environment is paramount to effective operating performance. In order to assess the effectiveness of our safety culture we must measure performance improvement. Specific safety improvement targets are set annually and operations management and supervisors are accountable for achieving these. The overall goal is to provide an incident-free and injury-free workplace and to maintain or improve the health and wellbeing of our workforce.

To that end, the Company systematically assesses existing processes to determine areas for improvement. We seek to create a mindset where people believe it is possible to work without injury, regardless of their individual roles.

Work is ongoing towards implementing a comprehensive health, safety, and environmental management system that is aligned with AS/NZS4801 and ISO14001 standards. This system is consistent with, and complimentary to employee rehabilitation and hazard management practices specified by the NZ Accident Compensation Commission (ACC).

In 2007, the Company has focused on establishing effective health and safety functions at the developing Frasers Underground and Didipio operations. It is imperative that we instil the same high standards of safety performance into these new operations.

Lost Time Injury Frequency Rate (LTIFR)*

*New Zealand Operations only

Emergency Response
To support the expansion of our operations, including underground mining, we have in place a comprehensive program for training mine rescue and first response teams. We have also implemented first aid training for the whole of our work force. Training progress is monitored, with regular onsite mock exercises and emergency scenarios.

OceanaGold is committed to building partnerships with the communities in which it operates.
We are committed to leaving a lasting legacy beyond the closure of our operations by developing sustainable programs in partnership with local communities.

OceanaGold Community Policies
The Company's Community Relations policies are being reviewed, refined and developed as part of the Sustainability Policy Review that is currently underway in 2008.

Community Partnerships
OceanaGold has a number of active community partnerships across a range of initiatives involving our operations in both New Zealand and the Philippines. As well as our significant economic investment in these regions, the Company has partnered with local stakeholders to build relationships which help to identify local needs and priorities. Developing programs that build capacity and will be sustainable through the life-of-mine and beyond will continue to be a key focus from here forward.

New Zealand
The Company has been an active member of the local communities surrounding our Macraes mine located in Otago, New Zealand since 1990. Some of the local programs that we are currently in include:

• Heritage and Art Park - a rehabilitation initiative to develop an industrial site into a public art park
• Macraes Trout Hatchery - a co-operative venture with Fish & Game New Zealand
• Otago Life Education Trust - youth support initiative
• LEARNZ - program that enables students to 'visit' our operations through virtual reality fieldtrips

The Reefton mine which was commissioned in 2007 and is located on the west coast of the South Island of New Zealand has provided the Company with the opportunity to become involved in another South Island community. Some of the donations we have provided recently have supported the following community organisations:

• Reefton Rugby Club
• "Who Cares" community are organisation
• Reefton St John Ambulance

In late 2007 OceanaGold signed an agreement to become a major sponsor of Inangahua Vision 2010.  The Inangahua Vision 2010 project covers 16 community projects in the district and the local fundraising committee's target is to secure NZ$300,000 in funding over the next five years to complete these projects.  The Company is represented on the fundraising committee and has NZ$25,000 to the initiative which will be spread over five years.

Philippines
OceanaGold acquired the assets of Climax Mining in 2006 which consisted of assets in the Philippines. Since that time the company has been developing relationships with Filipino communities near the Didipio Project. To date we have supported numerous health, education and infrastructure programs, including:

• A scholarship program - the program is in its second year of implementation and OceanaGold has committted further funding for the program to March 2010.  In 2007, the Company sponsored a total of 59 college scholarships and 109 high school scholarships.  The scholarships provide students with free tuition fees until they graduate provided that they maintain the required academic grades.
• Sponsorship of medical and dental missions
• Contribution of a midwife's salary and daycare feeding program
• Provision of medicines to a local clinic
• Sponsorship of the local health department to conduct baseline studies on the health of the Company's workers as well as local residents.

Our work in the Philippines is underpinned by a comprehensive five year Social Development Management Program (SDMP) which forms an essential element of our required permitting for the Didipio Project. The SDMP is intended to provide a sustained improvement in the living standards of the host and neighbouring communities by helping them to define, fund and implement the development program before commercial production at Didipio begins in late 2008. The SDMP will also continue to be implemented during the life of the mine and after mine closure.
Community infrastructure investment in the Philippines has also resulted in OceanaGold providing funds and support during 2007 for:

• Local road repairs
• Bridge construction and repairs
• Upgrading of irrigation systems
• Repair of the local chapel
• School building extensions
• Construction of a trade and skill training centre
• Relief assistance after major typhoons and other disasters such as earthquakes.

Like New Zealand, our staff also partake in non-monetary initiatives such as introducing overseas visitors to the operations, school career days and local initiatives such as "Nutrition Day" and the "Trees for Life" program.
Our commitments to all our stakeholders is evident in all our investment programs and is a responsibility we take seriously. Our full community investment performance will be reported in more detail in our next annual report.

OceanaGold is committed to successfully developing its mining projects, and at the same time committed to improving the lives of its local communities by supporting sustainable community development. We recognise that success is not just about the end result, but also about how one gets there. The company is therefore focused on establishing and undertaking public consultation throughout all stages of our projects to ensure community concerns can be voiced and addressed.

Initiatives underway in New Zealand
OceanaGold has had an excellent track record of consulting with our local communities in New Zealand, where the company has operated since 1990. Here, the company has developed close working relationships with a number of stakeholders which include:

• Kati Huirapa ki Puketaraki
  The company entered into a memorandum of understanding in December 2004 with Kati Huirapa ki Puketaraki, the Maori group who has traditionally had responsibility for the land on which the Macraes Gold Project is located. The memorandum recognises this relationship and identifies the consultation process to be followed when developing the operations. This memorandum of understanding has been upheld since inception and encourages continued and open dialogue with the Kati Huirapa ki Puketaraki.
• Kati Waewae
  The Reefton Gold Project is on land that is traditionally overseen by Kati Waewae. The company is currently entering into a similar memorandum of understanding with the Kati Waewae to the one that exists with the Kati Huirapa ki Puketarak. In July 2007 representatives from the Iwi tribe attended the company’s official opening ceremony which marked the commissioning of its Reefton Gold Project.
• Councils
  The company’s operations fall within the boundaries administered by four territorial council authorities. For the Macraes Gold project they are the Otago Regional Council and the Waitaki District Council, and for the Reefton Gold Project they are the West Coast Regional Council and the Buller District Council. The company maintains close relationships with all councils through their regular site visits and ongoing consultation.
• Department of Conservation
  The Department of Conservation is a key Government stakeholder, particularly at the Reefton Gold Project which operates in a conservation area, where the land is administered by the department. As a routine part of its mining and rehabilitation program the company works with the department on a major pest control program to create a forested “mainland island” for the benefit of native flora and fauna. At Macraes Gold Project the company works closely with the department in identifying and protecting mining and pastoral heritage that is not in the path of the mining footprint.
• Fish & Game New Zealand
  In October 2004 OceanaGold in partnership with Fish & Game New Zealand built the Macraes Trout Hatchery situated on the Macraes Goldfield. The Hatchery raises an average of 10,000 to 12,000 rainbow trout annually for release into"put and take" fisheries throughout Otago (fisheries which have no natural spawning and therefore are not self sustaining). It has become a favourite tourist destination in the area and is also enjoyed by OceanaGold's employees, who like to keep an eye on progress and help out with weekend and public holiday feeding and checking of trout.
• The Historic Places Trust
  The Historic Places Trust is another body with which the company has had close relationships. We work together to ensure our exploration and mining activities have minimum impact on heritage sites or artifacts.

Apart form the formal bodies we liaise with, the company also devotes time to keeping the local communities informed on our activities through meetings, site visits and consultation when new activities are planned .

Initiatives underway in the Philippines
In November 2006, the company acquired the assets of Climax Mining and in the process took over a portfolio of assets in the Philippines. The most advanced of these is the Didipio Project located on the island of Luzon. As the project transitions from exploration through to development and eventually starts operating, there will be new challenges and opportunities for the local and surrounding communities to work together to develop infrastructure, skills training, small businesses and sustainable ventures.
Numerous community development initiatives in the Philippines have already commenced. These have primarily focused on improving health, education, infrastructure and socio-economic conditions while protecting and enhancing the local environment, as well as preserving the cultural heritage and values of the local communities.
Our engagement with our local Filipino community stakeholders has so far comprised:

• Meetings with communities, local councils, various interest groups eg land owners;
• Focus groups; technical seminars - where topics have included the explanation of the FTAA and benefits to the community;
• Distribution of brochures and information materials.

While every community has its own unique needs, concerns and issues, preliminary findings from the community engagement undertaken in the Philippines indicate that current opportunities for development include:

• An increase in communication, meaningful information and knowledge to assist local understanding of the project, that includes providing:
  - Understanding of mining methods, process and the end use of the mineral;
  - Effect of mining on the environment as it relates to agriculture.
• A desire for employment and genuine interest in the development of the mine;
• Development of a compensation matrix and assessment tool for impacted local communities; and
• The need for additional community programs throughout the region.

The company is already responding to these opportunities for development. We are working with independent specialists in the social and environmental fields to review our programs and initiatives as well as to examine our procedures on consultation and identification of local needs and priorities. At a corporate level, we are working with Net Balance Management, an Australian based sustainability consulting firm to review the company’s overarching sustainability policies and procedures. This will also assist us in establishing a platform for engaging with a wide range of our stakeholders. Net Balance has inhouse mining related experience and has also worked with companies such as World Vision, Fosters Limited and Vodafone Australia in the area of sustainability strategy and reporting.