December 7, 2024 | 12:00am
MANILA, Philippines — Pangilinan-led Philex Mining Corp., one of the oldest and largest gold producers in Southeast Asia, has extended the life of its Padcal Mine in Benguet by a year or until the end of 2028.
Padcal’s mine life was earlier estimated to last until the end of 2027 as long as gold prices remain at a profitable level which would allow the company to sustain operations and not run at a loss.
Philex said a recently completed study found out that there are more ores that could be mined at the mine site, particularly those that would come from the pillars at 760-ML production level.
“There are tonnages also from previously developed draw points beyond one hundred percent extraction that provide good grades that we continue to mine,” the company said yesterday.
“These are on top of the mineable reserves that we declared in the 2027 projected end-of-mine life,” it added.
The company explained that the economic viability of extending the mine life of Padcal was confirmed following price sensitivity analyses.
Philex officials earlier said that extending the mine life of Padcal would depend on prevailing gold prices, especially if it would remain above $2,000 an ounce to ensure that it will not incur losses.
Last year, Philex extended the life of its Padcal mine by another three years up to 2027 after confirmatory drilling yielded additional mineable reserves.
The latest mine plan showed that Padcal still has some 30.25 million metric tons of remaining mineable reserves with an average gold and copper grades of 0.20 grams per ton (g/t) and 0.18 percent, respectively, according to Philex.
The miner said the total recoverable goal is estimated to be around 137,600 ounces while total recoverable copper is around 93.2 million pounds.
Philex said the newly declared remaining mineable reserves were based on its previously disclosed mineral resource estimate at the end of last year at 190.8 million metric tons with an average grade of 0.3 g/t and 0.18 percent for gold and copper, respectively.
“The new extension of the life of Padcal Mine from Dec. 31, 2027 to Dec. 31, 2028 will provide the continuous employment of 1,879 Padcal employees as well as sustain the necessary assistance given to the social development of the host and neighboring communities,” it said.
The extension of the Padcal mine life would also allow Philex to conduct a “smooth” transition to the start of the commercial operations of its Silangan Project, which is estimated to commence in early 2026, according to the company.
Philex saw its attributable net income from January to September fall by almost a quarter year-on-year to P636.03 million as an increase in expenses outpaced the growth in revenues.
Philex said its net income declined by P207.94 million from the P843.98 million recorded in the same nine-month period last year.
Philex said it is fast-tracking the operationalization of its Silangan Copper and Gold Project in Surigao Norte to take advantage of the favorable market conditions amid elevated global metal prices.
The company remains keen on delivering the first metal output in February 2026 with the commercial operations still scheduled within the first quarter of the same year.
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