OceanaGold Corp. is confident of securing a renewal of its Financial or Technical Assistance Agreement (FTAA) to resume its operations at the Didipio Mine in Nueva Vizcaya.
OceanaGold made this statement following reports the Court of Appeals has denied its application for injunction questioning the legality of an order issued by the governor of Nueva Vizcaya stopping its mining activities pending renewal of the FTAA.
“The company has not received any formal order from the Court of Appeals and is seeking confirmation. If the denial of the injunction is in fact accurate, the company will continue to defend its right to operate the Didipio mine in the interim whilst it completes the FTAA renewal process. To this end, OceanaGold intends to follow the usual appeal process with the Court of Appeals, and if necessary, to the Supreme Court of the Philippines,” the company said.
OceanaGold said the Local Government Code of 1991 does not grant the power or authority to any local government officer to restrain any aspect of the site’s operations.
“The company will continue to work with the national government to finalize the renewal of the FTAA and remain open to the opportunity to engage with the provincial governments of both Nueva Vizcaya and Quirino that are hosting the FTAA and work together in the best interest of local stakeholders,” OceanaGold said.
The company said it has obtained the support of the Mines and Geosciences Bureau (MGB) and the Department of Environment and Natural Resources which have allowed it to continue operations even if it still in the process of renewing the FTAA.
But the Nueva Vizcaya government has denied the company access to and from the mine site following the expiry of its FTAA in June last year.
