OceanaGold denies shutdown of Didipio copper-gold mine

Australia’s OceanaGold (ASX, TSX: OGC) said Friday that rumours about a halt of operations at its copper-gold mine in the Philippines were just speculation.

The Kalikasan People’s Network for the Environment claimed earlier this week that local authorities had ordered the shutdown of OceanaGold’s Didipio mine, located on the island of Luzon, over alleged water and forest pollution caused by the operation.

The Melbourne-based company said the local regulatory authority – the Mines and Geosciences Bureau (MGB) – had sent confirmation that the mine was permitted to continue operations, pending a financial or technical assistance agreement (FTAA) renewal from the Philippine Government. OceanaGold lodged its FTAA application in March 2018.

Didipio, which began production in 2013, has a measured and indicated resource of 1.3 million ounces of gold and 160,000 tonnes of copper

The operation, 270 km north of Manila, is expected to churn out this year between 120,000 and 130,000 ounces of gold and 14,000 to 15,000 tonnes of copper.