About

Rich History, New Beginning

Located in Lancaster County, South Carolina, the historic Haile Gold Mine was one of the first operating gold mines in the United States. Established long before the gold rush of California, gold was discovered in 1827 by Benjamin Haile and the mine has been in production on and off for nearly 200 years. In fact, in the late 19th century, Haile was the most productive and profitable gold mine east of the Mississippi River.

Today, Haile is owned by OceanaGold, a global gold mining company with a strong presence in the Philippines, New Zealand and United States. OceanaGold has extensive experience in the industry and is devoted to the environment and the communities in which we operate. OceanaGold also is committed to leaving a positive, long-lasting legacy well beyond the mine life cycle.

The primary construction of the new mine operating facilities at Haile is complete. After many years of planning, exploration, construction and regulatory preparation, we celebrated reaching the milestone of our very first gold pour on January 19th, 2017.

Driving Economic Growth

Working together with local communities and regulatory entities, OceanaGold’s Haile Gold Mine is driving economic growth in the region up to an entirely new level while maximizing production and setting new standards for environmental stewardship.

Utilizing the most advanced technology and mining techniques, we have invested nearly $800 million in capital costs to build this modern day mine operation. And that’s before we poured a single ounce of gold!

We are also spending more than $3 million per month locally through labor and the purchase of local goods and services. That amazing figure is multiplied by the individual spending of our employees and contractors, and creates roughly $70 million annually in direct and indirect revenue in local counties. This has led to new opportunities to improve support for schools, police departments, fire departments, and other key civic initiatives.

Raising Environmental Standards

We are proud to employ environmental policies and practices that go beyond regulatory requirements – and the standards of most mining companies – to preserve and restore wetlands damaged by previous mining operations.

And we will invest millions of dollars more to reestablish wetlands and streams temporarily affected by current mining operations in addition to creating entirely new wetlands and other bodies of water.

It’s the right thing to do because we care about the environment.