Miner to spend $7M to test additional prospects
By Jed Macapagal | Malaya Business Insight | March 12, 2024
Multinational mining firm OceanaGold Corp. is preparing to spend as much as $7 million (P388 million) this year to drill for additional mining prospects in the Philippines.
Gerard Bond, OceanaGold president and chief executive officer, told reporters in a briefing in Makati City Friday that of the said amount, $2 million will be for Napartan, Nueva Vizcaya, while $3 million to $5 million will be utilized in the underground of its existing Didipio copper and gold mine traversing the provinces of Nueva Vizcaya and Quirino.
“The prospect that we have is called Napartan and we signed agreements with local land owners and barangay to commence drilling. We are in the process of getting drills to sites and we look forward to drilling. We have to have the drills active in about a month. We think there could be gold there but we will only know when we put the drills,” Bond added.
Based on an earlier regulatory filing, OceanaGold said total capital investments this year at the Didipio mine is expected to range between $45 million and $55 million for underground development, purchases of new underground equipment, extension and conversion drilling as well as planned regional exploration activities, among others.
The company also expressed optimism to further extend the mine life of the Didipio mine through successful exploration and going deeper into the site.
“As it is now, we operate 200 meters below the old open pit but we see mineralization that is mineable after the 200 meters below and even in below the 400 meters, we got a drill length suggesting that there is more gold below. This ore body… we have not found the bottom of yet,” Bond said.
The company also mentioned that it continues preparations for the listing of its local subsidiary OceanaGold Philippines in the Philippine Stock Exchange.
However, Bond said at present, the listing will be “dependent on regulatory approvals.”
The company earlier announced plans to raise up to P7.9 billion from the said activity. –
The company also recently said in its regulatory filings that for this year, the Didipio mine is expected to produce 120,000 to 135,000 ounces of gold and 12,000 to 14,000 tonnes of copper at an all-in sustaining cost between $750 and $850 per ounce.
Source: Malaya
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