OCEANAGOLD CONFIDENT IT CAN AVOID FORCED CLOSURE OF ITS DIDIPIO MINE

OCEANAGOLD (ASX: OGC) is confident it can respond to environmental concerns raised by the Philippine Government and avoid the closure of its Didipio gold mine.

The company was one of 23 named by Philippines environment undersecretary Leo Jasareno and environment secretary Gina Lopez at a press conference in late September, where they were threatened with closure after failing audits.

OceanaGold President and CEO, Mick Wilkes, reacted with shock and "disappointment" at the time and sought further clarification of the issues.

With the receipt of a letter from the Philippines Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DNER) and the Didipio audit report, Wilkes has indicated the results were not as bad as indicated by the press conference.

The company says it has previously discussed a number of issues contained within the report with the DENR following the completion of the report in August, and most of the findings relate to the need to educate a wider variety of stakeholders

"The Didipio Mine is a world class operation that operates in accordance with the highest industry standards for health, safety, environment, community and sustainability," says Wilkes.

"The results of the audit report and discussions we've had with the audit team and with government officials including those within the DENR clearly demonstrates this.

"In our discussions with the DENR and government officials, we have good alignment and we look forward to our collective efforts to advance a responsible mining sector.

"As such, I am very confident that our responses to the DENR will satisfy all of the findings and recommendations that have been raised."

The mine is continuing to operate and previous production guidance remains in place.

OceanaGold is trading up 9.07 per cent this morning at $3.97 per share.