OceanaGold seeks new mine site in Nueva Vizcaya
AUSTRALIAN-CANADIAN mining company OceanaGold Corp. said it plans to spend $5-7 million this year on drilling and exploration.
“That’s about 9 kilometers away from our existing mine…, and we are hoping to find another mine here in the Philippines,” OceanaGold Chief Executive Officer Gerard M. Bond said in a media briefing on Monday.
Its Philippine unit, OceanaGold Philippines, Inc., operates the Didipio gold and copper mine in Nueva Vizcaya.
He added that $2 million will be allocated for exploratory drilling in Napartan Kasibu, Nueva Vizcaya.
“We think there could be gold there, but we will only know when we put the drills there in the coming months,” Mr. Bond said.
The company has signed agreements with local landowners and the barangay to commence drilling operations in the area.
“We’re in the process of getting drills to site, and we look forward to drilling. We have to have the drills active in about a month,” he said.
He added that another $3 milllion to $5 million was earmarked for drilling within the Didipio mine.
“We operate 200 meters below the old open pit, but we see mineralization that is mineable another 200 meters below… and even further below that at the 400-meter level,” he said.
The company projects 120,000 to 135,000 ounces of gold and 12,000 to 14,000 tons of copper production for the Didipio Mine this year. — A.H. Halili