TVIRD project threatened by new mining rules

MANILA, Philippines - The moratorium on the issuance of new mining permits is preventing TVI Resource Development (Phils.) Inc. (TVIRD) from developing a mineral-rich site in Malusok, Zamboanga del Norte according to a company statement.

TVIRD is the Philippine arm of Canadian mining firm TVI Pacific Inc.  

The Malusok project is located three kilometers from the Canatuan copper-zinc project which would be closed next year.

The Malusok site, which is inside the mineral production and sharing agreement (mpsa) area of the Canatuan mine is expected to extend the life of the mine.

“The area’s development is now seriously threathened by the government’s ban on the issuance of new mining permits. The current Canatuan mining operation of TVI Resource Development (Phils.) Inc. is scheduled to run out of ore by 2013. There is another potential ore body next door that could possibly extend the life of the mine by up to several years but the ban is preventing the company from pursuing it on time,” TVIRD said in a statement.

Company geologists estimate ore deposits in the Canatuan mine will have been depleted by the end of 2013.

The Canatuan mine primarily produces copper and zinc but may also contain gold and silver deposits.

“Still on its exploration stage, the process toward full mining operations was discontinued because of the moratorium,” TVIRD said.

The Malusok site is located within the 8,000-hectare of land covered by a  Certificate of Ancestral Domain Title (CADT) of the Subanon tribe which, according to TVIRD had given consent to  mine the area.

The new mining policy prohibits the issuance of new mining permits pending the passage of a law rationalizing the revenue sharing between the state and mining firms.

Aside from the Malusok site, TVIRD is also developing a gold- silver project in Balabag, Zamboanga del Norte.

In August, TVIRD said indicated resources at the Balabag gold project at the Zamboanga peninsula, which is still at the pre-development stage was seen at 1.78 million tons averaging 2.34 grams per ton of gold and 72.3 grams per ton of silver.

Based on the drilling completed in June 2011, the mine site is initially seen to contain 134,262 ounces of gold and 4,148,196 ounces of silver.

The company recently reported a net income of $2.1 million in the second quarter of 2012 from the mine, a turnaround from $2.1 million in losses it incurred in the same period last year.

In the first quarter of the year, TVI Pacific recorded a net loss of $2.3 million.

In a financial report, TVI Pacific reported that its gross revenues for the second quarter rose to $26.5 million from $24.1 million in the same period last year.

Sales of concentrates from its Canatuan mine enabled the firm to reap in net revenues of $22.6 million, up seven percent from $21.2 million in the same period last year.