Philex looks for Silangan mine project partners
Philex Mining Corporation, one of the country's largest mining firms, expects to complete the review of the feasibility study for its Silangan gold-copper project by the first quarter of next year.
According to Philex President Eulalio Austin Jr., they may start looking for potential partners for the development of the project upon completion of the review which is being conducted by Ausenco of Australia.
The property is estimated to contain 5 billion pounds of copper and 9 million ounces of gold through its 398 million metric tons of ore reserve.
"Once we have the definitive study finalized, then we will start looking for joint partners. A number have already expressed their interest but I think it's too early. We still don't have anything to show to them," said Austin.
He noted that, "investors would also want to see the study."
Philex's feasibility study for the Silangan project in Mindanao is currently under peer review which, upon completion, will then be presented to Philex's board of directors for approval.
Austin said Philex will then submit necessary requirement to the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) to be able to start developing the mine.
Philex officials earlier said the Silangan project will require about $1 billion to $1.2 billion to fund its development.
The company hopes to start operating the mine between 2019 and 2020, in time for the winding down of activity in the company's other Padcal mine whose mine life is set to end by 2022.
Philex recently released its 2015 Sustainability Report detailing the company's sustainability efforts of its mine site in Padcal, Benguet. This is the company’s second Sustainability Report following the first one released in 2014.
The sustainability report was prepared in accordance with the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) G4 "core" level. According to the GRI website, the GRI Sustainability Reporting Guidelines are the most widely used comprehensive sustainability reporting standard in the world.
"The 2015 Sustainability Report, “Magnitude,” showcased how we constantly strive to make improvements in advancing Philex Mining Corporation as a responsible industrial producer," said Austin.
"One of the company's significant operations milestones in 2015 was the declaring of additional resources and reserves for Padcal Mine and the discovery of initial resources in the surrounding area," he said.
For Padcal, additional resources of 111 million tones at the 800-600 meter level were declared in October 2015. The additional reserves extend Padcal Mine's life for two more years to 2022 from 2020.
"In addition, an initial inferred resource estimate of 21.7 million tones was identified in the Bumolo Project that increases the possibility of another mine life extension for Padcal,” said Austin.
This, however, will require more work to increase the quality and quantity of the initial results. “Nonetheless, exploration for further resources in the Padcal mine vicinity is being relentlessly pursued to identify new ore bodies," added Austin.