OceanaGold Philippines pays P398M in local business tax
Listed mining firm OceanaGold Philippines Inc. has paid a total of P397.7 million in local business tax to three towns in Nueva Vizcaya and Quirino this year, all intended for the development of its host communities.
In a statement on Monday, the local unit of Australian-Canadian mining company OceanaGold Corp. said Kasibu town in Nueva Vizcaya had received the largest tax payment amounting to P198.9 million.
It also remitted P119.3 million in local business tax payments to Nagtipunan town and another P79.6 million to Cabarroguis town, both in Quirino province.
Although this year’s total payment was lower than the P421.9 million paid in 2024, it was higher than the P326.2 million that was remitted in 2023.
“We are all working for the continuing operations of the mine so that we are able to continue giving benefits to our communities; agyaman kami (thank you),” OGP president and general manager for external affairs Joan Adaci-Cattiling said.
Giving back
“We are a part of the community and it is pleasing to share our success with the broader community. This is a partnership, a relationship…this is an example where we are giving back as much as we can,” OGP board chair Peter Sharpe said.
Through their respective memorandum of agreement (MOA), municipalities pledged to allocate no less than P5 million of their local business tax share to finance projects, programs and activities in support of environmental management, protection and conservation in their respective jurisdictions.
Mario Ancheta, regional director at the Mines and Geosciences Bureau’s office in Cagayan Valley, emphasized the broader economic benefits of mining-related revenues, noting that local communities were gaining from these development initiatives.
OceanaGold Philippines operates Didipio Mine, an underground gold-copper mine that straddles Nueva Vizcaya and Quirino provinces in Luzon island.
It is covered by the Financial and Technical Assistance Agreement (FTAA) with the government that was signed in June 1994 and renewed for another 25 years beginning June 19, 2019. Under the FTAA, the government and the company share in the net revenue from operating the Didipio mine on a 60-40 basis.
The Didipio mine is one of the mining projects of parent firm OceanaGold, which also operates Waihi and Macraes mines in New Zealand and Haile mine in the United States.
The local mining firm reported a net income of $30.3 million in 2024, up by 13.1 percent, despite lower sales and output. Revenues dropped by 7.6 percent to $342.9 million.
