TUBA, Benguet – Philex Mining Corporation, one of the oldest and largest gold and copper producers in Southeast Asia, after the completion of confirmatory drilling and related technical studies on the mining methodology and Tailings Storage Facility (TSF) No. 3, has successfully identified from the end of 2022 additional mineable reserves in its Padcal Mine that are feasible for mining.
The updated remaining mineable reserves as of end-March 2021 are estimated at 30.2 million tons with average gold and copper grades of 0.23 grams per ton (g/t) and 0.18 percent, respectively. This new estimate includes additional reserves of 16.2 million tons from the previously declared estimated mineable reserves as at the end 2020 of 17.4 million tons with an average gold and copper grades of 0.27 g/t and 0.18 percent that was reported in February 2021. The additional mineable reserves are expected to be mined over two years, extending the life of Padcal Mine until Dec. 31, 2024.
The latest mineable reserves estimate was undertaken by Engineer Ricardo S. Dolipas II, an accredited Competent Person by the Philippine Society of Mining Engineers (PSEM) under the Philippine Mineral Reporting Code (PMRC) Guidelines.
More importantly, the extended Life of Mine will ensure the continuous employment of 1,831 Padcal employees and support the social development of the host local government units (LGU) and neighboring communities especially in this time of COVID-19 pandemic. It will also give more time for the Company to bring the Silangan Project to development and commissioning stages.
The Company is currently processing all required permits and other regulatory requirements in connection with this impending Life of Mine extension.
Philex president and chief executive officer Engr. Eulalio B. Austin, Jr. stated that the company continues to look for other possible mineable areas within its tenement area in Pacal to help in possibly further extending the mine life beyond 2024 as the same is actually possible depending on the prevailing circumstances.
He pointed out that it is very difficult to put up another mine like Padcal that is why efforts are being done to look for other possible mineable areas within the company’s tenement area to serve as one of the available options for the possible extension of the projected mine life and to sustain the employment of its workers, the development of its host and neighboring communities and the local governments and the sustainable preservation and protection of the environment.
The Philex president disclosed that the company’s Silangan project in Mindanao will likely open by 2024 which is in time for the possible end of mine life of the company’s Pacal
mine that is why officials and employees who are interested to transfer to Mindanao can do so to sustain their employment.
However, he emphasized that the company is not closing its doors in aggressively looking for mineable ore deposits within its tenement area in Padcal to be able to sustain its operations while the prospects of the global mining industry remain bright based on the developments that have cropped up during the ongoing Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. By HENT
