Philex posts 31% hike in ore shipments

MANILA, Philippines - Philex Mining Corp., the country’s largest and most profitable copper producer, reported a 31-percent growth in the value of ore produced from its main Padcal mine in Benguet province in 10 months this year.

In a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange yesterday, Philex said it produced an estimated P13.52 billion worth of ore as against P10.33 billion in the same period in 2010.

Philex, controlled by Hong Kong’s First Pacific Co. Ltd., said the estimated value of shipments jumped 40 percent to P11. 48 billion compared with P8.21 billion the previous year.

Jose Ernesto C. Villaluna Jr., president of Philex, said the Padcal mine delivered 835,459 dry metric tons (DMT) of ore resulting in 5,870 DMT of concentrates in October 2011 worth an estimated P1.33 billion.

The concentrates contained 58.39 grams per DMT of gold, 25.77 percent copper, and 54.80 grams per DMT of silver equivalent to 11,022 ounces of gold, 3.34 million pounds of copper and 10,344 ounces of silver.

The estimated value of output is P808 million from gold, P510 million from copper and P15 million from silver, based on provisional metal prices of $1,720 per ounce of gold, $3.58 per pound of copper and $34.24 per ounce of silver at the exchange rate of P42.62 to the dollar.

Philex made two shipments in October, both for Pan Pacific Copper Co. Ltd., containing about 18,965 ounces of gold, 5.61 pounds of copper and 17,941 ounces of silver from 10,094 DMT of concentrates.

The two shipments have an estimated value of P2.23 billion consisting of P1.4 billion from gold, P820 million from copper and P27 million from silver. This is based on average provisional metal prices of $1,705 per ounce of gold, $3.38 per pound of copper and $34.36 per ounce of silver.

“We continue to be optimistic that we would still see record earnings this year. Overall, we can say that as we get nearer to the close of the year, it may be another excellent year for Philex,” chairman Manuel V. Pangilinan said earlier.”

In the nine months ending September this year, Philex posted a net income of P4.35 billion, already exceeding the P3.945 billion recorded for the entire 2010 and the highest nine-month profit in its 55-year history.

The nine-month figure was 106 percent higher than the P2.12 billion earned the same period a year earlier. The growth was mainly driven by higher metal prices and improved output.