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Gerard Bond, President & CEO of OceanaGold Corporation | Rule Symposium 2026: Rick Rule interviews

Rule Investment Media May 22, 2026

Summary

OceanaGold trades near 3.5 times enterprise value to annualized cash flow against a peer average of 7, the CEO says.

Four producing mines in the US, New Zealand and the Philippines all generate cash, so growth is self-funded.

AISC (All-In Sustaining Cost — what it really costs to produce an ounce) is dropping at Hale as output rises about 30%.

A $620 million cash balance and no debt fund a new mine, buybacks and dividends without outside capital.

Recent drilling extended both ore bodies, and a one-million-ounce New Zealand reserve feeds an existing mill.

Key points on Oceanagold

  • The guest argues the shares are undervalued: at a roughly $7.5 billion market cap the stock trades at about 3.5x market price to enterprise value against a peer-group average near 7x, while carrying one of the highest free cash flow yields in that peer set.
  • Four producing mines: Hale Gold Mine in South Carolina (~45% of 2026 production), Macraes and Waihi in New Zealand (~40%), and one in the Philippines. He says all assets are producing, profitable and each carries its own growth options.
  • Hale is the near-term growth engine - 2026 production is up about 30.5% year over year to roughly 245,000 ounces on lower unit costs, which he expects would make OceanaGold the fourth-largest gold producer in the US.
  • Operating cash flow is split roughly 20% into sustaining the business, 20% into growth and about 40% returned to shareholders through buybacks and dividends (last year and in Q1 2026), with the remainder building a debt-free balance sheet holding about $620 million in cash.
  • Growth is brownfield-led: the new mine outside Waihi (which he calls WKP) holds about 1 million ounces of reserve at 9 g/t and feeds an existing mill and workforce, Waihi North received life-of-mine permits in December 2025, strong drill results at both Hale and WKP extend the mine-life runway, and new technical reports lengthened lives at Macraes, Hale and the Philippine asset.

Rick Rule's takeaways

  • Top takeaway Rule discloses that he personally holds shares in OceanaGold and says he has visited three of its four mines - Hale, Macraes and Waihi - where he found impressive mineral endowments.
  • He frames the investment case as a part-by-part discount: the company offers a very low market cap to net present value while simultaneously offering one of the highest free cash flow ratios in the industry, which he uses to argue the share price does not reflect the sum of its parts.
  • He says every public-company exhibitor at his symposium is vetted and that the primary qualification is that he and his staff must know and like the company enough to own shares in it, adding that he turns down more exhibition requests than he accepts.
  • To support the value of his content he offers an unconditional money-back guarantee on tuition for live and streamed attendees, noting that over 30 years refunds have run below one tenth of one percent of tuition charged.
  • On the operating environment he says New Zealand has the best resource-development policy globally and notes the Waihi community held a pro-mining demonstration, while conceding the guest's point only holds while the current New Zealand government stays in office.

Gerard Bond's takeaways

  • Top takeaway Bond argues the stock is mispriced: at a roughly $7.5 billion market cap it trades at about 3.5x market price to enterprise value versus a peer-group average near 7x, and he says that low multiple combined with one of the highest free cash flow yields in the group still leaves good value for investors.
  • He lays out four producing assets - Hale in South Carolina at about 45% of this year's output, Macraes and Waihi in New Zealand at about 40%, and one mine in the Philippines - and says all of them are producing, making money and have unique growth optionality.
  • He points to a growth surge at Hale, where 2026 production is up about 30.5% year over year to roughly 245,000 ounces at a lower all-in sustaining cost, higher output combined with lower unit costs driving free cash flow.
  • On capital allocation he describes a repeatable split of operating cash flow: about 20% back into sustaining the business, about 20% into growth, roughly 40% returned to shareholders via buybacks and dividends in the past year and in Q1 2026, and the balance building cash, with no debt and about $620 million in the bank funding growth and predictable shareholder returns.
  • For future growth he leans on low-risk brownfield work - the new WKP mine near Waihi with about 1 million ounces of reserve at 9 g/t feeding an existing mill and workforce, Waihi North life-of-mine permits granted in December 2025 after a March submission, and recent drill results showing both the Hale and WKP ore bodies growing.