OceanaGold (Philippines) Inc. (OGP) is accelerating exploration work at its Didipio mine as it evaluates a potential offset extension to support long-term gold and copper output. OGP President Joan Adaci-Cattiling said underground drilling is ongoing within the mine and across its roughly 7,000-hectare Financial or Technical Assistance Agreement (FTAA) permit area.
“We’re very happy that we’re able to do that because we have our current operations, but we don’t [want to] remain stagnant. You look for other opportunities,” she told reporters last week, Manila Bulletin reports. She added that the company cannot yet disclose how many sites are under study as exploration continues.
OGP is spending USD 5 million, or around PHP 280 million, on its exploration program this year, which is aligned with its commitments under its FTAA with the government. In June, the company announced plans for 8,000 meters of drilling across the FTAA area at True Blue, a site 800 meters from Didipio and identified as an area of known mineralization.
Adaci-Cattiling said OGP continues to pursue additional prospects in the Philippines. “We’re considering where the minerals are, where the opportunities are. We’ll also look at community acceptance, whether there’s a social license,” she said.
The Didipio mine lies between the provinces of Nueva Vizcaya and Quirino. OGP, a subsidiary of Australian-Canadian firm OceanaGold Corp., first entered into its FTAA in 1994, becoming the country’s first 100% foreign-owned operator of large-scale mining exploration. The agreement was renewed in 2021, extending its operations until 2044.
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