AUSTRALIAN MINER UNFAIRLY PRESSURED FILIPINO VILLAGERS: OXFAM.

MELBOURNE, Oct 1 Asia Pulse - Australian mine operator OceanaGold Ltd (ASX:OGD) used a combination of intimidation and inducements to pressure Filipino villagers to accept a proposed gold and copper mine, an Oxfam Australia report alleges.

In its report on OceanaGold's Didipio mine - based on a five-year investigation - Oxfam Australia said the miner refused to accept that many of the local people did not want a mine in their frontyard.

"There is significant opposition to the project by many in the community as well as the elected local council," Oxfam's mining ombudsman Shanta Martin said.

Ms Martin said the council had not freely given its consent to the project "despite OceanaGold allegedly resorting to coercive means to secure continuation of the project".

Over the past five years Oxfam had interviewed hundreds of villagers from Didipio and found many complained of harassment and intimidation by agents of the Australian owned mine.

The Oxfam investigation heard allegations that company representatives offered inducements to members of the Didipio Barangay council through money, employment and enormously inflated offers for their land.

"One current councillor stated he refused these inducements and alleged that a company manager offered him so much money that, `as long as I was alive I would not be able to consume this money'," an Oxfam statement said.