Philex production jumps 35% to P11.75B in January-November

MANILA, Philippines - Philex Mining Corp., the country’s most profitable miner, continued to boost the value of ore shipped and produced from its Padcal mine due to rising metal prices, bigger output and higher ore grades.

In a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange, Philex said production rose 35 percent in 11 months ending November this year to P11.75 billion, from P8.7 billion in the same period a year ago.

Output during the period under review grew 13.6 percent to 8.53 million dry metric tons (DMT) compared with 7.5 million DMT the previous year.

“Barring unforeseen circumstances, we are confident that we will be able to keep the production level that we have achieved up to the end of the year,” Philex president and chief operating officer Jose Ernesto C. Villaluna Jr. said.

“We may continue to see good, if not better, ore grades as well.”

On the other hand, the estimated value of gold and copper concentrates shipped from January to November this year climbed 23 percent to P10.57 billion from P8.6 billion even though 12 shipments were made last year compared to only 11 in 2010.

For November alone, Philex produced 14,055 ounces of gold, 3.24 million pounds of copper, and 13,115 ounces of silver.

During the month, the Padcal mine delivered 826,549 DMT of ore resulting in 5,976 DMT of concentrates containing 72.63 grams of gold per DMT, 24.63 percent copper, and 68.23 grams of silver per DMT.

The estimated value of last month’s production amounted to P1.42 billion, consisting of P858 million from gold, P546 million from copper and P16 million from silver.

This is based on provisional metal prices of $1,379 per ounce of gold, $3.80 per pound of copper, and $27.13 per ounce of silver, at the exchange rate of P44.255 to the dollar.

Villaluna said Philex made two shipments in November, both for Pan Pacific, containing about 23,707 ounces of gold, 5.39 million pounds of copper and 23,211 ounces of silver from 10,112 DMT of concentrates.

The two shipments have a combined estimated gross value of P2.36 billion consisting of P1.42 billion from gold, P912 million from copper and P26 million from silver.

“We are quite focused on getting the Silangan project closer to completion of its pre-feasibility study by the first quarter of next year,” Philex chairman Manuel V. Pangilinan said.

The Silangan copper-gold mine in Surigao del Sur province is estimated to hold significantly more resources than Philex’s Padcal mine, which has been in operation for a little more than half a century