OceanaGold cuts mine rehab costs with new ecosystem approach

MANILA, Philippines — Listed firm OceanaGold (Philippines) Inc. has cut its mine rehabilitation costs by two-thirds after adopting an innovative ecosystem-based approach, allowing the company to reallocate savings to other environmental programs.

In a statement, the mining firm said the new “Harmony in Diversity (HiD) Effect” method lowered the cost of progressive rehabilitation to P1.3 million per hectare in 2025 from P3.5 million per hectare in 2023.

“The shift to the HiD approach has allowed us to significantly reduce costs while accelerating ecosystem recovery, providing a more sustainable model for post-mining rehabilitation,” OceanaGold said.

Progressive rehabilitation, as defined by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR)’s Mines and Geosciences Bureau, is a cost-effective engineering and biological approach to restore mined areas.

It aligns with approved post-mining land use while supporting ecosystem recovery and biodiversity regeneration.

The company attributed the savings to a shift away from conventional hydro seeding techniques that relied on imported mulch and fast-growing grass seeds requiring frequent trimming and costly maintenance.

By replacing these methods with the HiD approach, OceanaGold can allocate the budget previously used for traditional rehabilitation to other environmental programs, strengthening its overall sustainability efforts.

The HiD approach also shortens the timeline for achieving self-sustaining forest cover.

Areas that previously took up to 15 years to regenerate could now reach ecological stability in just three to five years, the company said.

This accelerates biodiversity recovery and ensures that post-mining lands return more quickly to productive and ecologically balanced states.

According to OceanaGold, the approach demonstrates how responsible mining can integrate cost efficiency with environmental stewardship, offering a model for sustainable rehabilitation that can be replicated across other mining sites.

Earlier in June, the Australian-Canadian mining firm said it plans to spend about P280 million for exploration activities within its permit area of approximately 7,000 hectares this year.