Oceanagold Philippines ensures water management compliance to ISO 14001

MANILA, Philippines – Oceanagold Philippines (OGPI) reports the measures it observes to ensure its water management system complies to ISO certification.

In late 2018, the OGPI Didipio operations undertook recertification in its International Organization for Standardization’s Environmental Management System (ISO 14001) and Occupational Health and Safety Management System (OHSAS 18001). ISO 14001 serves as the guiding framework of UN Sustainable Development Goal for having amply protected; seamlessly integrated; efficiently harnessed; water sources and management systems by 2030.

The Didipio operation uses clean and sophisticated technologies, making its gold processing cyanide and mercury free; its tailings non-toxic and non-hazardous; and ultimately the best in the wold in terms of water management.

In the Didipio mine, OGPI recycled an average of 75% of the process plant’s water requirements reducing abstraction of water from local catchments and overall operating costs in 2016. As of December 2018, Didipio’s continuous efforts to improve the water recycling rate resulted in an increase to 90% recycled water.

“One of OceanaGold’s key environmental goals is to maintain a sustainable, non-polluted water supply across all of our operations and host communities.

We are committed to proactively reducing fresh water use and maximising water recycling in our operations, thereby reducing our need to extract water from local catchments and ensuring our host communities maintain access to healthy water sources.

At Didipio, we are delivering on this to the highest standard,” OceanaGold Didipio General Manager, Mr. David Way said.

The construction of a new Water System Project further puts OceanaGold’s Didipio operation at the forefront of global long-term environmental planning and management.

The Water System Project is due to be completed later this year and includes water storage, treatment and supply infrastructure that will enable community members to access reliable and safe potable water in each household now and for years to come. The system will have the capacity to provide water for up to an estimated 2400 households in the community, roughly triple the estimated count of current households numbered at 900.

OceanaGold has also recently improved its environmental standards and management systems, firmly supporting the United Nations sustainability goal on climate action and affordable, clean energy.

The Didipio operation is now obtaining further certification for its Energy Management System (ISO 50001 2011) – with the aim of more efficiently using available energy sources to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and other related environmental impacts and energy cost through the systematic management of energy.

“This continual improvement on our environmental performance is the direct result of the commitment and hard work of our Didipio employees to make their operation world class and aligned to international best practice mining standards.

By doing this they are leaving a lasting, positive legacy not only for Didipio, but for the whole of the Philippine community,” Mr. Way said.

ADVT