High-tech water treatment plant

MANILA, Philippines - OceanaGold  employs a high-tech water treatment facillity at its Didipio Project in Kasibu, Nueva Vizcaya to insure that the water it uses in the mining operation is returned clean and of high quality to the ecosystem.  Acquired and installed at cost of $6.1 million, the water treatment plant has a capacity of 47,520 cubic meters per day. The system parameters are online and remotely controlled. This was revealed by OceanaGold senior vice-president Chito Gozar who said the mining company is firm in its commitment to spare no effort and cost to improving water balance and achieving positive environmental impact. The Didipio Mine had been granted a wastewater dischargen permit by DENR for tailings storage facility which requires compliance within class D effluent water quality standard which has a total suspended solid limit of 150 parts per million. “Our Environment Team sees to it that TSS level of TSF water discharge are within the criteria set of 50 to 150ppm from the start of our opertions but with OceanaGold’s increasing greenfield projects and programs in the pipeline, we are also taking our water quality improvement to the next level,” Gozar said.  He  explained that the company “has initiated and constructed the water treatment plant to have a cleaner water discharge and will exceed compliance requirements lowering the discharge standard from  Class D to Class C  with TTS equal or less than 70ppm, a reduced amount from EMB prescribed standard.