OceanaGold says Didipio mine reached commercial output in April

Production at the Didipio copper-gold mine in Nueva Vizacaya has reached commercial levels as of April 1, Australian miner OceanaGold Corporation announced on Friday.

 

“The Board of Directors has reviewed the monthly operating metrics and cost profile and has determined that the effective date of commercial production is as at 1 April 2013. All revenues and operating costs will be reported to the Income Statement from that point,” the miner said in a statement.

 

The Didipio operations has so far produced more than 22,000 tons of copper gold concentrates, according to OceanaGold.

 

“This marks the official start to a very important chapter for OceanaGold as we transition into a multinational gold producer,” said Mick Wilkes, managing director and CEO. “We have successfully progressed from first ore in the mills to commercial production in just over three months which is a great accomplishment and a testament to the skill of the construction and commissioning teams,” he added.

 

Commissioned last December, Didipio is expected to produce 50,000-70,000 ounces of gold and  15,000-18,000 tons of copper this year with the ore processing plant throughput rate placed at 2.4 million tons year which OceanaGold expects to ramp up to 3.5 million tons at the end of 2014. — VS, GMA News