OceanaGold Sees Significant Increase in Gold Production at Didipio Mine

OceanaGold has reported a notable 22.35% rise in gold production at its Didipio Gold-Copper Mine located in Nueva Vizcaya, according to the latest figures released by the Australian-Canadian mining company. Over the past year, the mine successfully produced 138,500 ounces of gold, a significant increase from the 113,200 ounces recorded in the previous year.

Joan Adaci-Cattiling, Didipio Mine President and General Manager for External Affairs and Social Performance, expressed satisfaction with the year's performance, noting that production comfortably surpassed the upper limit of their 2023 guidance, which was set between 125,000 to 135,000 ounces of gold and 12,000 to 14,000 metric tons of copper. Despite this success in gold production, the company experienced a slight decrease in copper output, with production dipping 1.38% to 14,200 metric tons in the last year, down from 14,400 metric tons in 2022.

The significant increase in gold output can be attributed to the mining of higher-grade breccia stopes in the final quarter of 2023, a milestone made possible by the completion of the crown pillar strengthening project. This project reinforced the ground surface at the bottom of the mine directly above the underground operations, thereby enhancing safety for underground mining activities.

Furthermore, the company benefitted from a favorable market, with the average gold price per ounce climbing 9% to $1,974 in 2023, up from $1,811 in 2022. Copper prices also saw a modest increase to $3.87 per pound last year.

Didipio's contribution to government revenues saw a boost, with the mine paying $26.3 million (or approximately P1.46 billion) in production taxes in 2023, in addition to a government share of $20.3 million (or around P1.1 billion) under the Financial or Technical Assistance Agreement.