OceanaGold's Didipio gold and copper mine in the Philippines may be suspended and shares in the company have slumped by 16 per cent in the space of an hour after a government official in the developing nation named Didipio among four mines that would have their permits suspended.

In a stunning case of deja vu, Gina Lopez, the secretary of the Philippines department of environment and natural resources, announced on Thursday that Didipio was one of several gold or nickel mines that would have their permits suspended.