OceanaGold hikes gold production target for Didipio mine

MANILA, Philippines — Australian-Canadian mining firm OceanaGold Corp. has raised its gold production forecast for its Didipio mine in Nueva Vizcaya this year, with the Philippine mine as a major driver to meet the lower end of its full-year target output of the precious metal.

“Didipio full year production is expected to exceed the original guidance range, which has been increased to between 125,000 and 135,000 ounces of gold, with copper guidance unchanged at 12,000 to 14,000 tons of copper,” OceanaGold said in its third quarter report.

In its previous projection, Didipio mine was forecasted to produce between 120,000 and 130,000 ounces of gold.

“As a result of the higher production, all-in sustaining cost (AISC) is expected to be lower than original guidance and is now expected to be between $650 and $750 per ounce,” the mining firm said.

OceanaGold said the Didipio mine is one of the two assets that would drive the company to produce at least 460,000 ounces of gold, which is the bottom end of its gold production guidance.

The company has set a gold production guidance range of 460,000 to 480,000 ounces for this year.

“The third quarter was always expected to be our lowest production quarter of 2023, although it was further impacted by isolated challenges in the final stage of the mill zone pit at Haile. However, the strong performance at Didipio and Macraes keeps us on track to meet the low-end of our full-year consolidated production guidance range,” OceanaGold president and CEO Gerard Bond said.

As of end-September, Didipio has produced 95,720 ounces of gold—accounting for 27.6 percent of the total output—and 10,324 tons of copper. All of OceanaGold’s copper production came from the Philippine mine.

In the third quarter alone, Didipio produced 30,479 ounces of gold, which was a five-percent decline quarter-on-quarter “mainly due to slightly lower grades consistent with the mine plan,” Oceana Gold said.

Out of its four operating mines, Didipio mine produced the second highest gold, which is roughly 30 percent of the total output as of end-September.

Meanwhile, Didipio mine produced 3,413 tons of copper, which was flat quarter-on-quarter.

OceanaGold has downsized its capital investment for the Didipio mine to between $25 million and $35 million for this year from its earlier plan to spend between $35 million and $50 million.

As of end-September, OceanaGold has spent $2.9 million for general operations, $0.6 million for pre-strip and capitalized mining, $2.4 million for growth and $0.7 million for exploration.

The Didipio mine is an underground and open pit with a lifespan of 10 years. It produces gold and silver as dore bars and copper in concentrate, with proven and probable reserves of 1.23 million ounces and measured and indicated resources of 1.41 million ounces.