Philex infusing $1B more into Silangan mine
Manuel Pangilinan —CONTRIBUTED PHOTO
Philex Mining Corp. is spending about $1 billion more to develop the Silangan copper and gold project in Surigao del Norte. It is tagged as one of three large-scale mining projects in the Philippines.
In a disclosure on Friday, the mining company led by tycoon Manuel Pangilinan said the additional capital spending would be used for major construction operations. It would also be used to ramp up the mine’s production. The goal is to reach a full capacity of 4 million metric tons (MT) per year.
Philex Mining fully acquired the site in 2010. It said the amount was on top of the regular capital expenditure to sustain the project and the predevelopment investment of P18 billion.
READ: Philex gets foreign partner for Silangan
The company said Silangan , located in Tubod town, was expected to record its first metal production by March next year. The other two large-scale mining projects, Tampakan and King-king, both in Mindanao, also have yet to begin commercial operations.
Philex’s future plans
Philex Mining held a groundbreaking ceremony last May 28 in front of a grinding complex. It is one of the components of the Silangan project. It consists of a Semi-Autogenous Grinding mill, which breaks down large ore chunks into smaller pieces. There is also a mill liner handler and cyclone cluster pump.
Upon completion, the Silangan mine will produce copper cathode and gold dore.
Philex Mining tapped Australia-based Ausenco Pty Ltd. as consultant to provide engineering, procurement and construction management support.
READ: Gov’t study spells out need for mining sustainability
Earlier, Philex Mining said a foreign investor had secured a minority stake in the copper and gold project. It has yet to disclose the partner’s identity and shareholding.
The Silangan mine’s first phase has a mineable ore reserve of 81 million MT, which would be mined for 22 years at a rate of 4 million MT per year using underground sublevel cave mining based on a detailed feasibility study undertaken in 2019.
“The updated mineral resource estimates for all the deposits and mineable reserves estimate for Boyongan orebody indicates a large high-grade gold and copper deposits within the tenement areas,” the firm’s website read. Boyongan is one of three areas in the mining site.
