MANILA, Philippines - OceanaGold has produced the first concentrate at its Didipio project in Nueva Vizcaya even as commissioning of the process plant continues to track expectations.
This was revealed by Mick Wilkes, OceanaGold MD and CEO, who said “commissioning has advanced so well that the state process plant is now running at a steady state, giving us the option to focus the remainder of commissioning efforts this year on increasing and improving recoveries and concentrate grade.â€
Wilkes acknowledged the support for the Didipio project “we have received from our national and local government partners†as a big factor that helped OceanaGold push the start of the project’s operatons according to pre-planned schedule.
Coincidental with the start of operations of the Didipio Project was the re-launch of the Didipio Community Development Corp. (DiCorp) headed by its president Henry Guay.
DiCorp is a community corporation established with the technical assistance and support of OceanaGold. Its goal is to assist the local community to build capacity and develop the skill base in order to establish business pursuits associated directly and indirectly with the mine. Many of these businesses are expected to flourish well beyond the life of the mine. DiCorp is now engaged in providing camp management services including housekeeping, catering and construction services fo the Didipio mine.
According to Guay, DiCorp’s long-term program is sustained development of Baranggay Didipio, Kasibu, Njueva Vizcaya through projects aimed at improved education, employment, health, livelihood and infrastructure.