Walk or cycle through a new recreation area for a unique look at mine site rehabilitation.

OceanaGold’s Globe Progress Mine commenced operation in 2007 and extracted 610,000oz of gold over the life of its open-pit operation. Rehabilitation procedures, planting, maintenance and water treatment now known as the Reefton Restoration Project, began in 2016 and will be ongoing for some time.

A new public recreation area opened in September 2025 and includes over 33km of multi-use tracks to and within part of the old mine site. Working with Ngāti Waewae, DOC and Buller District Council, OceanaGold has developed the area as a legacy project.

The shared cycle and walking track to the old mine site starts from the car park at the end of Rosstown Road, a pleasant 20-minute walk from Reefton Visitor Centre.

The zig-zag track starts steeply, climbing through pine forest to Reefton Lookout Point. After 45min the new benched Globe Hill Track peels off to the left and follows the ridgeline for the next 2.5hr through stunted black beech and mānuka.

The track reaches its highest point at Pt634. Evidence here of historic mining activity include a sluiced site and handstacked boulders, now overgrown with moss.

The descent to the mine site then begins and gives occasional views of the open-cast pit below. The track ends at the mine site where OceanaGold has installed toilets and a shelter. The foundations of the processing plant remain, and information panels provide a visual interpretation of what was once there. The views across the flooded mine site are spectacular, the distant benched terraces still quite raw. Hydroseeding (a planting technique that involves spraying a mix of seeds, mulch and water onto the soil) will soften the landscape over time.

Three tracks radiate out from the shelter. Tamatahia Te Whenua Track (30min) navigates the interpretative panels, Union Creek Track (1.5hr) goes through recently replanted rocky contours, and Fossicker Lake Track (2–3hr) loops around the former tailings storage lake,now known as Fossickers Lake.

Tamatahia Te Whenua Track is well worth completing to learn about the mine’s history, but the Union Creek and Fossickers Lake tracks could only be achieved in one day from Reefton by exiting via Soldiers – Big River Road, rather than returning along the Globe Hill Track. The other option would be to cycle. 

Alternatively, instead of starting at Rosstown Road as shown here, you could arrange a dop-off at the Soldiers – Big River Road car park (9km from Reefton) and enter the mine site from Alborns Walk loop track. You can exit this track onto Fossickers Lake Track and climb to the old processing plant and shelter before following the Globe Hill Track to Reefton. This would provide a more diverse experience than the return trip from Rosstown Road.

Note that the mine access road and bridge from SH7 are closed to the public. Walkers cannot reach the old mine site using this road, which is maintained by OceanaGold.