MANILA, Philippines - TVI Resource Development (Philippines), Inc. (TVIRD) is resuming drilling operations at its Balabag gold project in Zamboanga del Norte in Mindanao.
TVI Pacific Inc., TVIRD’s Canadian principal, had reported to the Canadian stock exchange that its Philippine subsidiary has resumed drilling at the Tinago vein, the largest of three vein systems occurring at Balabag Hill.
The Balabag gold project is covered by a mineral production sharing agreement (MPSA).
The mine site is located approximately 76 kilometers northeast of TVI’s operating copper/zinc mine at Canatuan, municipality of Siocon, Zamboanga del Norte.
The Balabag gold site is estimated to have 208,000 gold equivalent ounces (AuEq Oz) at 3.84 grams per ton (g/t). The resumed drill program hopes to prove that up to a minimum of 50,000 AuEq OZ is available.
Should the results of the drill program results indicate an economically mineable resource, it is TVI’s intention to build a mine in phases, in much the same way the original Canatuan gold mine was built, referring to this as a “bootstrap plan”. –Marianne Go