By Madelaine B. Miraflor Australian miner OceanaGold Corporation has no choice but to expect lower production from its Philippine operations as it approaches the final stage of its open pit mine operations in Nueva Ecija. Through Oceanagold Philippines, Inc., the group operates a toptier gold-copper mining project located in Barangay Didipio within the town of Kasibu in Nueva Vizcaya. OceanaGold's Didipio operations are now focused on mining the outer boundaries of the final stage of its open pit, while it's continuing the development of the underground mine within the area. Based on the company's full-year production results in 2017, production in Didipio for this year is expected to be lower as mill feed will be predominately sourced from lower-grade stockpiles as the underground operations ramp up. "Although production at Didipio will be lower in 2018 compared to last year, the ramp-up of the underground is progressing well and we expect a return to stronger production in 2019 and beyond," said OceanaGold president and chief executive officer Mick Wilkes. “We look ahead to 2018 where we have many catalysts across our business and we will continue to advance our exploration program to create organic value for our shareholders. As always, we continue to employ a strict discipline and approach to investment of any nature by focusing on margin and returns,” he added. Aside from the Philippines, OceanaGold is a multinational gold producer with assets in New Zealand (Waihi Gold Mine, Macraes Goldfield and Frasers) and the United States (Haile Gold Mine) In the Philippines alone, Didipio achieved record annual gold production and exceeded the top end of its 2017 gold production guidance range with 176,790 ounces produced, including 39,256 ounces produced in the fourth quarter, while copper production for the year was 18,351 tonnes, including 3,687 tonnes in the fourth quarter. Right now, underground ore from panel one is already available for processing while development of panel two in the underground has commenced and expected to be completed in 2019. During the first nine months of 2017, the Didipio Mine produced 137,534 ounces of gold  versus the 116,455 ounces it recorded in the same period in 2016. As for the sales, the company was able to ship 124,308 ounces of gold compared to the 114,404 ounces it did last year. For copper, the firm produced 14,664 tons compared to the 17,358 tons it did in the previous year. It also sold 13,249 tons, which is likewise lower than the 16,453 tons sold in the same period last year. Overall, OceanaGold recorded an annual and quarterly gold production of 574,606 ounces and 166,211 ounces respectively. For copper, it produced 18,351 tonnes for the year, including 3,687 tonnes in the fourth quarter “We are very pleased to report a strong finish to 2017 for OceanaGold as we achieved record quarterly production leading to the sixth consecutive year that we have achieved our annual guidance," Wilkes further said. "We strengthened our balance sheet as our drawn credit facilities reduced to $200 million following repayments of approximately $73 million from cash flows in the fourth quarter. At the same time, we increased our cash position to $73 million," he added.