Philex Mining Corp. said Thursday it discovered more ore reserves that will extend the life of Padcal’s mine in Benguet province by two more years from 2020 to 2022.
Philex said in a disclosure to the stock exchange an engineering study conducted on the mineral resource estimates from the 800 to 600-meter level identified an additional 20 million tons of ore reserves.
“The validation of additional reserves in the 800 to 600-meter level is indeed a very welcome development for the company,” said Philex Mining president and chief executive Eulalio Austin Jr.
“Aside from extending Padcal’s life of mine, the incremental reserves also enhance the company’s value and provide us with more flexibility before the Silangan project [in Mindanao] comes on stream,” Austin said.
Philex Mining reported a 20-percent drop in net income in the first nine months of the year due to lower metal prices.
The company said net income in the January-September period amounted to P756 million, down from P951 million registered in the same period last year.
Core net income dropped 9 percent to P811 million from P901 million a year ago. Net income attributable to equity holders of the parent company also went down by 29 percent to P851 million from P1.205 billion.
Revenues in the nine-month period also declined to P7.3 billion from P8.4 billion in 2014.
The company’s Padcal mine which operated for 269 days, produced 25.7 million pounds of copper and 81,599 ounces of gold.
The mining company said the price of gold during the period dropped 10 percent to $1,171 per ounce from $1, 299 per ounce in 2014.
Price of copper also went down by 19 percent from $3.03 per pound last year to $2.45 per pound this year.
Philex Mining operates the Padcal mine in Benguet. It is also developing the Silangan project in Surigao del Norte province.
“We are currently evaluating several techniques on waste materials handling and refining our mine design that will enable us to develop the Silangan project into an efficient and environment-friendly mine operation,” said Silangan Mindanao and Mining Co. Inc. president Yulo Perez.
“ These initiatives will extend the completion of the project’s definitive feasibility study to the first quarter of 2016 from our original projection this year,” Perez said.