OceanaGold prepares to list OGPI unit

MANILA, Philippines — Australian-Canadian mining firm OceanaGold Corp. has  started preliminary work on  the listing of its subsidiary OceanaGold Philippines Inc. (OGPI) at the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE) as part of the requirements of its Financial or Technical Assistance Agreement (FTAA).

In a webinar, OceanaGold executive general manager for New Zealand and the Philippines David Way said they have already started the initial process and inquiries regarding the listing of its Philippine subsidiary.

Under the 25-year FTAA with the Philippine government for the Didipio mine in Nueva Vizcaya the company is required to list at least 10 percent of its  common shares in OGPI  within the next three years.

In July last year, OceanaGold announced the renewal of its FTAA with the  government for the Didipio mine in Nueva Vizcaya that expired in June 2019.

“I think it’s still very early to make a statement on the matter as we are still studying how it’s going to be done,” OGPI president Joan Adaci-Cattiling said when asked for updates on the company’s listing.

She said the focus of the company after the FTAA renewal was to  ramp up and resume its operations.

“We do have time because under the FTAA addendum agreement, this is still within three years, with the possibility of extending it to five years for the listing, should we be required to have  longer years of operations,”Cattiling said.

Apart from the listing of OGPI, other conditions set in the renewal of the  FTAA include the allocation of an additional 1.5 percent of its gross revenue for community development,  and the transfer of OGPI’s principal office to a host province in the next two years.

The  FTAA also states that OGPI shall also offer for purchase by the Philippine central bank not less than 25 percent of its annual gold ore  production at fair market price and mutually agreed upon terms.

In a statement last week, OeanaGold said it expects to reach full underground production rates early in the second quarter.

The company will resume drilling of the Didipio ore body this year and possibly extending the mine life through discoveries at depth.

Beyond 2022, the Didipio mine is expected to produce between as much as  120,000 ounces of gold per year along with 12,000 to 14,000 tons of copper per year, OceanaGold said.