TUBA, Benguet – The Philex Mining Corporation will be rolling out two major projects in Luzon and Mindanao up to the first quarter of next year to help in sustaining the production of critical minerals to help enhance the country’s mining industry.

Philex president and chief executive officer Engr. Eulalio B. Austin, Jr. said that the company’s projects include the exploration of its nickel mines in Zambales and the expected initial operation of its Silangan project in Surigao by the first quarter of next year.

He claimed that the company’s nickel mines in Zambales was among the first exploration permits issued by Environment Secretary Maria Antonette Yulo-Loyzaga.

However, the Philex official pointed out that the company is working out the potential buyers of the nickel to be produced by the mine as this should be immediately shipped out as part of the operation plan for the project.

For its Silangan project, Austin claimed that the company is targeting to conduct a groundbreaking of the mine site by June this year although this is still being assessed in preparation for its initial operation by the first quarter of next year.

Earlier, Philex generated $43 million from its stock rights offering which was augmented by the balance of $181 million from the company’s internal sources to raise the $224 million required for Silangan’s initial operation with a production of 2,000 cubic meters of ore daily.

According to him, the company can realize this level of production but it is still uncertain as to when the produced ore will be processed to make the operation start earning.

Austin explained that the grade of the ore deposit in Surigao where its Silangan project is located is three times higher compared to the grade of the ore in its Padcal mine in Benguet that is why the company can settle its obligations within five years from the start of operations.

Initially, the projected life span of the company’s Silangan project is around 28 years depending on the grade of the ore that will be extracted from the mine site.

He explained that the company is passionately working for the realization of the two major mineral projects as an alternative for officials and employees from its Padcal mine who are interested to transfer their place of work to these new areas considering the projected end of Padcal’s mine life by 2027.

Philex is the country’s major producer of gold and copper that was incorporated in 1958 although it started operating as a mine several years later.

Austin underscored that the country has still vast resources that remain untapped considering its status as the fifth mineralized nation in the world that is why there are still numerous prospects of minerals that could be developed through the use of the latest technology and that the contributions of mining to the economy remains to be below one percent unlike in other countries where mining accounts for one fifth of their economy. By Dexter A. See 

Source: https://baguioheraldexpressonline.com/philex-to-roll-out-2-major-projects/