Didipio operator income down on weak gold, copper yields

The local subsidiary of Australian-Canadian mining firm OceanaGold Corp. posted an 11-percent decline in its net income during the nine-month period ending September on lower gold and copper production.

In a disclosure on Thursday, OceanaGold Philippines Inc. (OGPI), which operates Didipio in Nueva Vizcaya, said net income dropped to $29.2 million from $32.7 million in the same period a year ago.

Net income in the third quarter, however, soared by 620 percent to $3.6 million.

READ: OceanaGold Philippines budgets $7M for Didipio, new mine site

Year-to-date revenues reached $263 million, up 1 percent from $261.2 million.

Even though gold and copper prices climbed, the listed firm’s production declined following a mining layout redesign that yielded lower-grade minerals and interruptions to the processing plant in the second quarter of the year.

Gold averaged $2,366 per ounce, up 21 percent from $1,948 per ounce, while copper rose by 8 percent to $4.2 per pound from $3.9 per pound.

OceanaGold produced 77,300 ounces of gold, down by 19 percent. Copper output dropped by 11 percent to 9,200 tonnes.

Likewise, its all-in sustaining cost (AISC), or expenses relative to sustaining Didipio operations, surged by 48 percent to $1,075 per ounce from $727 per ounce.

“We remain focused on safely and responsibly delivering our updated production guidance while generating returns for our shareholders,” OGPI president Joan Adaci Cattiling said.

She said optimization work to increase mining rates was on track to help the company achieve 2 million tonnes per annum by the end of the year.