Aussie mining firm rehabilitates Vizcaya-Quirino road

BAYOMBONG, Nueva Vizcaya, Philippines – An Australian-owned mining firm has resumed the rehabilitation of a 22-kilometer road linking villages along the remote mountain boundary between Quirino and this landlocked province.

OceanaGold Philippines Inc. said the road project, together with other development projects such as water systems and agriculture-related ventures, is part of its corporate social responsibility efforts to improve the living conditions of residents along its project area.

OceanaGold holds a government contract to undertake the multibillion-peso Didipio gold-copper project in Barangay Didipio, Kasibu town, which is nestled along the boundary of the two provinces. 

The Didipio project, the first large-scale mining venture approved by the national government under the 1995 Mining Act, is expected to start full commercial operations in 2013 following more than a decade of exploring for gold, copper and other minerals in Didipio and adjoining villages.

Under the agreement signed by OceanaGold senior vice president Bradley Norman and leaders of Didipio village and Cabarroguis town in Quirino province, the firm would assist in the repair and maintenance of the road from Cabarroguis’ Debibi village to Didipio’s Ancabu area. 

The road links Didipio with Cabarroguis, capital town of Quirino, en route to the major national highway in Cordon, Isabela. 

The road will help villagers transport their goods easily, thus accelerating economic development in the local communities, OceanaGold vice president Chito Gozar said.