Philex starts Silangan pre-development

MANILA, Philippines — Pangilinan-led Philex Mining Corp. has started the ball rolling for its Silangan copper and gold project, one of the biggest mining investments in the country.

In a regulatory filing,  Philex said the Silangan project commenced its early works program pre-full development phase with the approval of the Declaration of Mining Project Feasibility (DMPF) for the underground sub-level cave mining method by the Mines and Geosciences Bureau.

MGB’s approval of the mining method incorporates a three-year development utilization work program on the mine for the second half of 2019 to the first half of 2022, which covers the environmental protection and enhancement program, final mine rehabilitation and decommissioning plan, and social development and management program.

“We are targeting to conclude the strategic partner and finalizing contracts within the first half of 2020, paving the way for development,” Philex Mining president and chief executive officer Eulalio Austin said.

The Silangan project activities under the three-year development and utilization work program approved by MGB have started which include early work program, pre-full development phase, which is part of the earmarked capital expenditure of $750 million.

“The mine is designed for four million metric tons per year. We will start lower, then on the second year, that is in 2023, it will be a full four million MT per year,” he said.

The Silangan mine is a large-scale high grade copper-gold development, with a number of greenfield and brownfield components, located in Surigao del Norte. It is one of three big-ticket mining projects seen to propel the Philippines as a major regional copper producer.

Silangan will be developed in phases with the Boyongan deposit to be fully developed within two and a half years and is expected to commence commercial production by the second half of 2022.

The first phase of the Boyongan deposit has an initial estimated mine life of 22 years. For the initial stage, Silangan is expected to yield high grade mineable ore grades of 0.63 percent for copper and 1.20 grams per MT for gold.

The second phase, which will be comprised of the Bayugo deposit, is scheduled to undergo preliminary feasibility study for underground sub-level cave mining within the year.

Bayugo is expected to be mine-ready as early as the fifth year from the start of Boyongan’s commercial operations.

The remaining substantial mineral resource and inventory including Kalayaan and the remnants of Boyongan will be subjected to future studies.

Philex believes that the global demand for mineral products will continue to grow and gold prices will continue their favorable momentum.

Meanwhile, Philex reported a net income of P439 million in the first nine months, down 23 percent amid lower production levels as Padcal nears the end of its mine life.

Philex reported a net income of P439 million in the first nine months, down 23 percent as revenues declined by 20 percent to P5.3 billion.

The Padcal mine milled 5.9 million MT of ore, nine percent lower than the 6.5 million MT in 2018, translating to 18.9 million pounds of copper and 38,125 ounces of gold.

Philex said scheduled maintenance programs and other unexpected repair works of Padcal mine’s aging mining equipment and facilities as well as uncontrollable power interruptions contributed to lesser operating days that led to lower volume of tonnage for the period.