Apex upgrades Maco mine estimate

MANILA, Philippines - Listed Apex Mining Co. Inc. has upgraded its resource estimate for the Maco gold mine in Compostela Valley.

In a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange yesterday, Apex said that following exploration and development programs undertaken in the site, gold resources potential at the Maco mine has increased to 1.118 million troy ounces, a 90-percent increase from the reported potential of 588,000 troy ounces in 2009.

“Measured and indicated resources have been estimated to have a total of 624,300 troy ounces,” it said.

Apex added that inferred resources total 494,100 troy ounces, all at 1.5 gram per ton of gold cut-off.

Apex president and chief executive officer Peregrino Resabal said the updated resource estimate for the Maco mine confirms the big potential of the mine.

“These results have further strengthened the confidence of the shareholders of Apex to pursue and devote more time in the exploration efforts which will hopefully translate to the increased mineable gold reserves,” Resabal said.

In February, Apex said it was planning to expand the production capacity of the Maco mine through the upgrade of an existing processing facility in the site.

The upgrade, it said, was expected to result in a three-fold increase in the milling capacity to be achieved during 2013.

The firm however said it has yet to finalize the cost and design work for the upgrade.

Apex A shares last traded at P5.16 apiece yesterday, up 3.20 percent from the previous day.

Its B shares meanwhile closed at P5.20 apiece yesterday, up four percent from the previous day.