MANILA, Philippines — Canadian-owned TVI Resource Development Philippines Inc. (TVIRD) is eyeing more markets for its Siana Gold Mine in Surigao del Norte as it ramps up the project to full commercial operations.
TVIRD’s wholly owned subsidiary, Greenstone Resources Corp. (GRC), recently obtained a notice to proceed to construct its seventh tailings storage facility at Siana Mine. GRC owns, operates and leads the development of the Siana gold project.
Since the soft commissioning of its processing plant in December last year, the Siana mine has been delivering regular shipments of gold and silver dore bars to the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP).
“And in addition to the BSP, we likewise plan to tap our direct markets in Asia, Oceania and Europe for the purpose of distributing our production – just like our Balabag Gold-Silver Mine in Zamboanga,” TVIRD chairman Clifford James said.
GRC also plans to establish the Siana mine as a processing center for other nearby prospects and gold deposits in the region with the necessary technology, equipment, and facilities.
As of end-March, the Siana project has milled a total of 125,200 tons of low-grade stockpile mineralized material with an average grade of 0.87 grams per ton of gold and 3.29 grams per ton of silver.
It has also shipped a total of 179 kilograms of doré containing 2,472 ounces of gold and 3,065 ounces of silver.
Last May 29 and 30, Canadian Ambassador to the Philippines David Bruce Hartman, Second Trade Secretary Kayla Slobodnik and Second Political Secretary Peter Wright visited the Siana Gold Mine.
They toured within the 3,289-hectare Siana Mineral Production Sharing Agreement (MPSA) area where they saw first-hand the developments on the company’s processing plant, main pit, tailings storage facilities and other major infrastructure.
“The recent visit and encouragement of Ambassador Hartman further increases our confidence in the realization of commercial operations at Siana very soon,” James said.
Hartman said projects and investments like TVI’s Siana Gold Mine will lead the mining industry in the pursuit of a green economy.
“In Canada, we see responsible business conduct as an essential element of the mining sector. The government of Canada expects Canadian companies active abroad to respect human rights, to operate transparently and in consultation with host governments and local communities; and to work in a socially and environmentally responsible manner, while respecting local applicable laws as well as the OECD`s Guidelines for Multinational Enterprise,” he said.
“We were thrilled to see the Philippines as the first country in the Indo-Pacific to have adopted Canada’s Toward Sustainable Mining (TSM) framework, and we appreciate TVIRD’s commitment to sustainable mining and [its] regular engagement with local civil society and indigenous peoples,“ Hartman said.
In October 2021, the TVIRD acquired 100 percent outstanding equity of GRC from Australia-based listed gold company Red 5 Ltd.
Prior to the acquisition, Red 5 Ltd said it had spent over $200 million to develop the Siana mine, which has the only modern gold plant in the region.