OceanGold expanding Didipio throughput

OceanaGold Corp.'s Didipio copper-gold operations in Nueva Vizcaya will be offline in the next few weeks as the company works on expanding its daily plant throughput to 3.5 million metric tons per year (MTPA), the company said Monday.

 

"We will be making these improvements over the next few weeks to ensure long-term 

reliability as the plant ramps up to 3.5 million MTPA. During this time, the plant will be 

temporarily off-line," the company noted in a disclosure to the Australian Stock Exchange. 

 

Since Didipio was commissioned in December, the daily throughput rate at the plant was 2.4 million MTPA, the Australian miner said, noting the first truckloads of concentrates were delivered to the mine port.

 

This year, OceanaGold expects to produce 285,000 to 325,000 ounces (oz.) of gold from the combined operations of its New Zealand and Philippine mines.

 

Dipidio is expected to produce 50,000 to 70,000 oz. of gold and 15,000 to 18,000 MT of copper this year. 

 

The gold recovery rate was consistently high at 80 percent and copper at 85 percent since Didipio was commissioned last month, the company said.

 

In the fourth quarter of 2012, OceanaGold said gold output reached 76,844 ounces, up 55 percent

higher from the third quarter which brought the total production from its New Zealand operations to 232,909 ounces for 2012.  

 

Didipio will have a significant contribution to the future production, said OceanaGold managing director and CEO Mick Wilkes, noting that "2013 is a transformational year for the company as we transition Didipio to operations and become a multinational gold producer on the great gains we have made in 2012." — VS, GMA News