<PAGE> PAGE 1
000 A000000 12/31/97
000 C000000 0000716836
000 D000000 N
000 E000000 NF
000 F000000 Y
000 G000000 N
000 H000000 N
000 I000000 3.0.a
000 J000000 U
001 A000000 OPPENHEIMER GOLD & SPECIAL MINERALS FUND
001 B000000 811-3694
001 C000000 3037683200
002 A000000 6803 SOUTH TUCSON WAY
002 B000000 ENGLEWOOD
002 C000000 CO
002 D010000 80112
003 000000 N
004 000000 N
005 000000 N
006 000000 N
007 A000000 N
007 B000000 0
007 C010100 1
007 C010200 2
007 C010300 3
007 C010400 4
007 C010500 5
007 C010600 6
007 C010700 7
007 C010800 8
007 C010900 9
007 C011000 10
008 A000001 OPPENHEIMERFUNDS, INC.
008 B000001 A
008 C000001 801-8253
008 D010001 NEW YORK
008 D020001 NY
008 D030001 10048
008 D040001 0203
011 A000001 OPPENHEIMERFUNDS DISTRIBUTOR, INC.
011 B000001 8-22992
011 C010001 NEW YORK
011 C020001 NY
011 C030001 10048
011 C040001 0203
012 A000001 OPPENHEIMERFUNDS SERVICES
012 B000001 84-1562
012 C010001 DENVER
012 C020001 CO
012 C030001 80217
013 A000001 KPMG PEAT MARWICK LLP
<PAGE> PAGE 2
013 B010001 DENVER
013 B020001 CO
013 B030001 80202
015 A000001 THE BANK OF NEW YORK
015 B000001 C
015 C010001 NEW YORK
015 C020001 NY
015 C030001 10015
015 E010001 X
018 000000 Y
019 A000000 Y
019 B000000 49
019 C000000 OPPENHEIMR
020 A000001 NESBITT BURNS, INC.
020 B000001 13-2620737
020 C000001 92
020 A000002 WOOD GUNDY CORP.
020 B000002 13-5492430
020 C000002 46
020 A000003 WARBURG, S.G. & CO., INC.
020 B000003 13-2994695
020 C000003 20
020 A000004 WERE (J.B.) & SON., INC.
020 B000004 13-3077027
020 C000004 18
020 A000005 TORONTO DOMINION SECURITIES, INC.
020 B000005 22-2203727
020 C000005 12
020 A000006 GOLDMAN, SACHS & CO.
020 B000006 13-5108880
020 C000006 12
020 A000007 RBC DOMINION SECURITIES, INC.
020 B000007 13-5033225
020 C000007 12
020 A000008 GORDEN HASKETT CAPITAL CO.
020 B000008 06-1095324
020 C000008 12
020 A000009 CAPEL (JAMES), INC.
020 B000009 52-1348224
020 C000009 10
020 A000010 ENSKILDA SECURITIES
020 B000010 13-3497509
020 C000010 8
021 000000 292
022 A000001 ZION FIRST NATIONAL BANK
022 B000001 87-0189025
022 C000001 459500
022 D000001 0
022 A000002 MORGAN GUARANTY TRUST CO.
022 B000002 13-5123346
022 C000002 286900
<PAGE> PAGE 3
022 D000002 0
022 A000003 GOLDMAN, SACHS & CO.
022 B000003 13-5108880
022 C000003 212070
022 D000003 1181
022 A000004 PAINEWEBBER, INC.
022 B000004 13-2638166
022 C000004 129300
022 D000004 0
022 A000005 FIRST CHICAGO CAPITAL MARKET
022 B000005 36-3595942
022 C000005 57100
022 D000005 0
022 A000006 WOOD GUNDY CORP.
022 B000006 13-5492430
022 C000006 3359
022 D000006 5688
022 A000007 NESBITT BURNS
022 B000007 13-2620737
022 C000007 658
022 D000007 7452
022 A000008 WARBURG, S G & CO., INC.
022 B000008 13-2994695
022 C000008 3373
022 D000008 3241
022 A000009 MERRILL LYCH, PIERCE, FENNER & SMITH, INC.
022 B000009 13-5674085
022 C000009 2356
022 D000009 2485
022 A000010 CAPEL (JAMES)
022 B000010 43-0895447
022 C000010 1333
022 D000010 1433
023 C000000 1176674
023 D000000 33945
024 000000 N
025 D000001 0
025 D000002 0
025 D000003 0
025 D000004 0
025 D000005 0
025 D000006 0
025 D000007 0
025 D000008 0
026 A000000 Y
026 B000000 Y
026 C000000 N
026 D000000 Y
026 E000000 N
026 F000000 N
026 G010000 N
<PAGE> PAGE 4
026 G020000 N
026 H000000 N
027 000000 Y
028 A010000 13875
028 A020000 0
028 A030000 0
028 A040000 14458
028 B010000 14327
028 B020000 0
028 B030000 0
028 B040000 11106
028 C010000 12079
028 C020000 0
028 C030000 0
028 C040000 10440
028 D010000 26901
028 D020000 0
028 D030000 0
028 D040000 21702
028 E010000 10861
028 E020000 0
028 E030000 0
028 E040000 19083
028 F010000 18160
028 F020000 325
028 F030000 0
028 F040000 18154
028 G010000 96203
028 G020000 325
028 G030000 0
028 G040000 94943
028 H000000 11928
029 000000 Y
030 A000000 200
030 B000000 5.75
030 C000000 0.00
031 A000000 46
031 B000000 0
032 000000 154
033 000000 0
034 000000 Y
035 000000 43
036 A000000 N
036 B000000 0
037 000000 N
038 000000 0
039 000000 N
040 000000 Y
041 000000 Y
042 A000000 0
042 B000000 0
<PAGE> PAGE 5
042 C000000 0
042 D000000 100
042 E000000 0
042 F000000 0
042 G000000 0
042 H000000 0
043 000000 186
044 000000 0
045 000000 Y
046 000000 N
047 000000 Y
048 000000 0.000
048 A010000 200000
048 A020000 0.750
048 B010000 200000
048 B020000 0.720
048 C010000 200000
048 C020000 0.690
048 D010000 200000
048 D020000 0.660
048 E010000 0
048 E020000 0.000
048 F010000 0
048 F020000 0.000
048 G010000 0
048 G020000 0.000
048 H010000 0
048 H020000 0.000
048 I010000 0
048 I020000 0.000
048 J010000 0
048 J020000 0.000
048 K010000 800000
048 K020000 0.600
055 A000000 Y
055 B000000 N
056 000000 N
057 000000 N
062 A000000 N
062 B000000 0.0
062 C000000 0.0
062 D000000 0.0
062 E000000 0.0
062 F000000 0.0
062 G000000 0.0
062 H000000 0.0
062 I000000 0.0
062 J000000 0.0
062 K000000 0.0
062 L000000 0.0
062 M000000 0.0
<PAGE> PAGE 6
062 N000000 0.0
062 O000000 0.0
062 P000000 0.0
062 Q000000 0.0
062 R000000 0.0
070 A010000 Y
070 A020000 Y
070 B010000 Y
070 B020000 N
070 C010000 N
070 C020000 N
070 D010000 Y
070 D020000 N
070 E010000 N
070 E020000 N
070 F010000 Y
070 F020000 N
070 G010000 Y
070 G020000 N
070 H010000 Y
070 H020000 N
070 I010000 N
070 I020000 N
070 J010000 Y
070 J020000 Y
070 K010000 Y
070 K020000 N
070 L010000 Y
070 L020000 Y
070 M010000 Y
070 M020000 Y
070 N010000 Y
070 N020000 N
070 O010000 Y
070 O020000 N
070 P010000 Y
070 P020000 Y
070 Q010000 N
070 Q020000 N
070 R010000 N
070 R020000 N
071 A000000 34726
071 B000000 33451
071 C000000 118707
071 D000000 28
072 A000000 6
072 B000000 336
072 C000000 766
072 D000000 0
072 E000000 0
072 F000000 481
<PAGE> PAGE 7
072 G000000 0
072 H000000 0
072 I000000 172
072 J000000 22
072 K000000 23
072 L000000 36
072 M000000 21
072 N000000 0
072 O000000 0
072 P000000 0
072 Q000000 0
072 R000000 9
072 S000000 8
072 T000000 186
072 U000000 0
072 V000000 0
072 W000000 6
072 X000000 964
072 Y000000 0
072 Z000000 138
072AA000000 2455
072BB000000 14560
072CC010000 0
072CC020000 24684
072DD010000 360
072DD020000 0
072EE000000 0
073 A010000 0.0374
073 A020000 0.0000
073 B000000 0.0000
073 C000000 0.0000
074 A000000 292
074 B000000 7000
074 C000000 0
074 D000000 1433
074 E000000 1744
074 F000000 93854
074 G000000 0
074 H000000 0
074 I000000 0
074 J000000 0
074 K000000 0
074 L000000 470
074 M000000 18
074 N000000 104811
074 O000000 283
074 P000000 103
074 Q000000 0
074 R010000 0
074 R020000 0
074 R030000 0
<PAGE> PAGE 8
074 R040000 1114
074 S000000 0
074 T000000 103311
074 U010000 9714
074 U020000 949
074 V010000 9.39
074 V020000 9.32
074 W000000 0.0000
074 X000000 19686
074 Y000000 6240
075 A000000 0
075 B000000 127125
076 000000 0.00
077 A000000 N
078 000000 N
080 A000000 ICI MUTUAL INSURANCE CO.
080 C000000 78000
081 A000000 Y
081 B000000 93
082 A000000 N
082 B000000 0
SIGNATURE GEORGE C. BOWEN
TITLE TREASURER
WARNING: THE EDGAR SYSTEM ENCOUNTERED ERROR(S) WHILE PROCESSING THIS SCHEDULE.
<TABLE> <S> <C>
<ARTICLE> 6
<CIK> 716836
<NAME> OPPENHEIMER GOLD & SPECIAL MINERALS - A
<S> <C>
<PERIOD-TYPE> 6-MOS
<FISCAL-YEAR-END> JUN-30-1998
<PERIOD-START> JUL-01-1997
<PERIOD-END> DEC-31-1997
<INVESTMENTS-AT-COST> 110,482,569
<INVESTMENTS-AT-VALUE> 104,031,313
<RECEIVABLES> 469,710
<ASSETS-OTHER> 18,573
<OTHER-ITEMS-ASSETS> 291,684
<TOTAL-ASSETS> 104,811,280
<PAYABLE-FOR-SECURITIES> 282,561
<SENIOR-LONG-TERM-DEBT> 0
<OTHER-ITEMS-LIABILITIES> 1,217,527
<TOTAL-LIABILITIES> 1,500,088
<SENIOR-EQUITY> 0
<PAID-IN-CAPITAL-COMMON> 132,018,561
<SHARES-COMMON-STOCK> 9,714,438
<SHARES-COMMON-PRIOR> 9,945,213
<ACCUMULATED-NII-CURRENT> 41,865
<OVERDISTRIBUTION-NII> 0
<ACCUMULATED-NET-GAINS> (22,297,639)
<OVERDISTRIBUTION-GAINS> 0
<ACCUM-APPREC-OR-DEPREC> (6,451,595)
<NET-ASSETS> 91,256,692
<DIVIDEND-INCOME> 766,043
<INTEREST-INCOME> 336,083
<OTHER-INCOME> 0
<EXPENSES-NET> 963,943
<NET-INVESTMENT-INCOME> 138,183
<REALIZED-GAINS-CURRENT> (12,105,787)
<APPREC-INCREASE-CURRENT> (24,684,440)
<NET-CHANGE-FROM-OPS> (36,652,044)
<EQUALIZATION> 0
<DISTRIBUTIONS-OF-INCOME> 360,019
<DISTRIBUTIONS-OF-GAINS> 0
<DISTRIBUTIONS-OTHER> 0
<NUMBER-OF-SHARES-SOLD> 6,945,563
<NUMBER-OF-SHARES-REDEEMED> 7,212,400
<SHARES-REINVESTED> 36,062
<NET-CHANGE-IN-ASSETS> (35,426,188)
<ACCUMULATED-NII-PRIOR> 263,701
<ACCUMULATED-GAINS-PRIOR> (10,191,852)
<OVERDISTRIB-NII-PRIOR> 0
<OVERDIST-NET-GAINS-PRIOR> 0
<GROSS-ADVISORY-FEES> 481,389
<INTEREST-EXPENSE> 0
<GROSS-EXPENSE> 963,943
<AVERAGE-NET-ASSETS> 113,651,020
<PER-SHARE-NAV-BEGIN> 12.68
<PER-SHARE-NII> 0.02
<PER-SHARE-GAIN-APPREC> (3.27)
<PER-SHARE-DIVIDEND> 0.04
<PER-SHARE-DISTRIBUTIONS> 0.00
<RETURNS-OF-CAPITAL> 0.00
<PER-SHARE-NAV-END> 9.39
<EXPENSE-RATIO> 1.42
<AVG-DEBT-OUTSTANDING> 0
<AVG-DEBT-PER-SHARE> 0.00
</TABLE>
WARNING: THE EDGAR SYSTEM ENCOUNTERED ERROR(S) WHILE PROCESSING THIS SCHEDULE.
<TABLE> <S> <C>
<ARTICLE> 6
<CIK> 716836
<NAME> OPPENHEIMER GOLD & SPECIAL MINERALS - B
<S> <C>
<PERIOD-TYPE> 6-MOS
<FISCAL-YEAR-END> JUN-30-1998
<PERIOD-START> JUL-01-1997
<PERIOD-END> DEC-31-1997
<INVESTMENTS-AT-COST> 110,482,569
<INVESTMENTS-AT-VALUE> 104,031,313
<RECEIVABLES> 469,710
<ASSETS-OTHER> 18,573
<OTHER-ITEMS-ASSETS> 291,684
<TOTAL-ASSETS> 104,811,280
<PAYABLE-FOR-SECURITIES> 282,561
<SENIOR-LONG-TERM-DEBT> 0
<OTHER-ITEMS-LIABILITIES> 1,217,527
<TOTAL-LIABILITIES> 1,500,088
<SENIOR-EQUITY> 0
<PAID-IN-CAPITAL-COMMON> 132,018,561
<SHARES-COMMON-STOCK> 948,816
<SHARES-COMMON-PRIOR> 693,768
<ACCUMULATED-NII-CURRENT> 41,865
<OVERDISTRIBUTION-NII> 0
<ACCUMULATED-NET-GAINS> (22,297,639)
<OVERDISTRIBUTION-GAINS> 0
<ACCUM-APPREC-OR-DEPREC> (6,451,595)
<NET-ASSETS> 8,838,237
<DIVIDEND-INCOME> 766,043
<INTEREST-INCOME> 336,083
<OTHER-INCOME> 0
<EXPENSES-NET> 963,943
<NET-INVESTMENT-INCOME> 138,183
<REALIZED-GAINS-CURRENT> (12,105,787)
<APPREC-INCREASE-CURRENT> (24,684,440)
<NET-CHANGE-FROM-OPS> (36,652,044)
<EQUALIZATION> 0
<DISTRIBUTIONS-OF-INCOME> 0
<DISTRIBUTIONS-OF-GAINS> 0
<DISTRIBUTIONS-OTHER> 0
<NUMBER-OF-SHARES-SOLD> 708,655
<NUMBER-OF-SHARES-REDEEMED> 453,607
<SHARES-REINVESTED> 0
<NET-CHANGE-IN-ASSETS> (35,426,188)
<ACCUMULATED-NII-PRIOR> 263,701
<ACCUMULATED-GAINS-PRIOR> (10,191,852)
<OVERDISTRIB-NII-PRIOR> 0
<OVERDIST-NET-GAINS-PRIOR> 0
<GROSS-ADVISORY-FEES> 481,389
<INTEREST-EXPENSE> 0
<GROSS-EXPENSE> 963,943
<AVERAGE-NET-ASSETS> 9,534,094
<PER-SHARE-NAV-BEGIN> 12.56
<PER-SHARE-NII> (0.01)
<PER-SHARE-GAIN-APPREC> (3.23)
<PER-SHARE-DIVIDEND> 0.00
<PER-SHARE-DISTRIBUTIONS> 0.00
<RETURNS-OF-CAPITAL> 0.00
<PER-SHARE-NAV-END> 9.32
<EXPENSE-RATIO> 2.19
<AVG-DEBT-OUTSTANDING> 0
<AVG-DEBT-PER-SHARE> 0.00
</TABLE>
<TABLE> <S> <C>
<ARTICLE> 6
<CIK> 716836
<NAME> OPPENHEIMER GOLD & SPECIAL MINERALS - C
<S> <C>
<PERIOD-TYPE> 6-MOS
<FISCAL-YEAR-END> JUN-30-1998
<PERIOD-START> JUL-01-1997
<PERIOD-END> DEC-31-1997
<INVESTMENTS-AT-COST> 110,482,569
<INVESTMENTS-AT-VALUE> 104,031,313
<RECEIVABLES> 469,710
<ASSETS-OTHER> 18,573
<OTHER-ITEMS-ASSETS> 291,684
<TOTAL-ASSETS> 104,811,280
<PAYABLE-FOR-SECURITIES> 282,561
<SENIOR-LONG-TERM-DEBT> 0
<OTHER-ITEMS-LIABILITIES> 1,217,527
<TOTAL-LIABILITIES> 1,500,088
<SENIOR-EQUITY> 0
<PAID-IN-CAPITAL-COMMON> 132,018,561
<SHARES-COMMON-STOCK> 344,694
<SHARES-COMMON-PRIOR> 312,660
<ACCUMULATED-NII-CURRENT> 41,865
<OVERDISTRIBUTION-NII> 0
<ACCUMULATED-NET-GAINS> (22,297,639)
<OVERDISTRIBUTION-GAINS> 0
<ACCUM-APPREC-OR-DEPREC> (6,451,595)
<NET-ASSETS> 3,216,263
<DIVIDEND-INCOME> 766,043
<INTEREST-INCOME> 336,083
<OTHER-INCOME> 0
<EXPENSES-NET> 963,943
<NET-INVESTMENT-INCOME> 138,183
<REALIZED-GAINS-CURRENT> (12,105,787)
<APPREC-INCREASE-CURRENT> (24,684,440)
<NET-CHANGE-FROM-OPS> (36,652,044)
<EQUALIZATION> 0
<DISTRIBUTIONS-OF-INCOME> 0
<DISTRIBUTIONS-OF-GAINS> 0
<DISTRIBUTIONS-OTHER> 0
<NUMBER-OF-SHARES-SOLD> 903,323
<NUMBER-OF-SHARES-REDEEMED> 871,289
<SHARES-REINVESTED> 0
<NET-CHANGE-IN-ASSETS> (35,426,188)
<ACCUMULATED-NII-PRIOR> 263,701
<ACCUMULATED-GAINS-PRIOR> (10,191,852)
<OVERDISTRIB-NII-PRIOR> 0
<OVERDIST-NET-GAINS-PRIOR> 0
<GROSS-ADVISORY-FEES> 481,389
<INTEREST-EXPENSE> 0
<GROSS-EXPENSE> 963,943
<AVERAGE-NET-ASSETS> 3,940,000
<PER-SHARE-NAV-BEGIN> 12.59
<PER-SHARE-NII> (0.02)
<PER-SHARE-GAIN-APPREC> (3.24)
<PER-SHARE-DIVIDEND> 0.00
<PER-SHARE-DISTRIBUTIONS> 0.00
<RETURNS-OF-CAPITAL> 0.00
<PER-SHARE-NAV-END> 9.33
<EXPENSE-RATIO> 2.16
<AVG-DEBT-OUTSTANDING> 0
<AVG-DEBT-PER-SHARE> 0.00
</TABLE>