Australia's OceanaGold stops shipments from Didipio mine

Australia's OceanaGold Corp. on Monday said shipments of copper-gold concentrates from its  Didipio mine in Nueva Vizcaya were halted in the meantime until the tax exemption rules of the Philippine government is clarified. "The company wishes to advise that it is currently in discussions with various government departments over interpretations of tax exemptions pertaining to OceanaGold’s Financial and Technical Assistance Agreement (FTAA)," the miner noted in a statement e-mailed to the media. Didipio is the first mining operation in the Philippines under an FTAA. "... Due to these clarifications on tax exemptions being sought, some of the trucks used for transporting concentrate are being held by local government agencies and thus transportation of copper-gold concentrate has been temporarily suspended. While these discussions take place, mining and processing operations continue," the statement read. An FTAA is the deal between the government and the mining company under the new policy covering large-scale exploration, development and commercial use of minerals with the miner shouldering all the necessary technology, management, financial and personnel for the operations. So far, Didipio has produced and delivered to port 2,500 tons of copper-gold concentrate. On top of that another 2,500 tons have been produced and is in the minesite. The Didipio Project is in commissioning stage and is expected to produce an average of 100,000 ounces of gold and 14,000 tons of copper per year on average over an estimated 16 year mine life. OceanaGold expects to produce 285,000 to 325,000 ounces of gold and 15,000 to 18,000 tons of copper in fiscal year 2013 from its New Zealand and Philippine operations. — VS, GMA News