Philex Padcal mine's ore output up 27% to P14.92B in 11 mos

MANILA, Philippines - Benefiting from rising metal prices, Philex Mining Corp. reported a 27-percent growth in the value of ore produced from its Padcal mine in Benguet in the 11 months ending November this year to P14.92 billion.

In a disclosure to the stock exchange, Philex said it also shipped P12.58 billion worth of concentrates from January to November 2011, 19 percent higher than the P10.57 billion estimate in the same period a year ago.

In November alone, the Padcal mine delivered 789,830 dry metric tons (DMT) of ore, resulting in 6,083 DMT of concentrates, said Renato N. Migriño, Philex senior vice-president for finance.

The concentrates contained 61.32 grams of gold per DMT of ore, 24.6 percent copper and 59.01 grams of silver per DMT, translating to a gold production of 11,994 ounces, as well as 3.3 million pounds of copper and 11,540 ounces of silver.

The estimated value of the month’s production is P1.4 billion consisting of P903 million for gold, P484 million from copper and P16 million for silver.

This is based on provisional metal prices of $1,725 per ounce of gold, $3.36 per pound of copper and $31.35 per ounce of silver at an exchange rate of P43.64 to the dollar.

Also last month, Philex shipped 5,033 DMT of concentrates for Pan Pacific Copper Co. Ltd., containing about 9,246 ounces of gold, 2.7 million pounds of copper and 8,916 ounces of silver.

The estimated gross value of the shipment is P1.11 billion consisting of P679 million worth of gold, P413 million in copper and silver valued at P13 million.

The gross value estimate is based on average provisional metal prices of $1,695 per ounce of gold, $3.51 per pound of copper and $33.19 per ounce of silver.