Oceanagold Corp. said it had signed an offtake agreement with global commodity trading giant Trafigura for the copper concentrate from the Didipio gold project in Nueva Vizcaya.
In a statement, the Australian miner said the key terms of the offtake agreement were the same as those announced for the heads of agreement in July 2012.
Under the earlier agreement, OceanaGold will sell all the copper and gold concentrate produced from its Didipio mine to Trafigura at competitive terms and conditions, including treatment and refining charges.
The agreement will be for a minimum period of five years from the start of production at Didipio, OceanaGold added.
Didipio mine, which is located in Northern Luzon, was scheduled to start operations in the fourth quarter of 2012 or in the first quarter of 2013.
Trafigura will take delivery of copper and gold concentrates from the Didipio mine site, and will manage all land and sea transportation from the mine site to the smelters.
Trafigura is an international commodity trader that specializes in the supply and transport of concentrates. It owns and operates concentrate storage facilities in several countries which support the company’s trading activity.
The concentrate will be delivered to its copper smelting clients throughout Asia.
Earlier, OceanaGold said that it remained on track to the scheduled commissioning of the Didipio gold project in Nueva Vizcaya in the fourth quarter, with construction activities now in the final phase.
The company also said it expected the demobilization of earthworks and concrete contractors to start next week.
Once completed, the Didipio project is poised to become the first mining tenement to operate under a Financial or Technical Assistance Agreement or FTAA.—Riza T. Olchondra