OceanaGold Corp had a second-quarter profit plunge of 82 percent, as falling gold prices cut into earnings.

The Melbourne-based company operates the Macraes gold field near Dunedin.

It said in a statement net profit was 735 thousand US dollars in the three months to June 30.

That was down from 4.1 million US dollars in the same period a year earlier.

The company said its New Zealand operations achieved a good production improvement for the quarter.