Philex allots P1.5B for mining exploration this year
Philex Mining Corp., the country’s biggest miner of gold and copper by market value, is earmarking around P1.5 billion for its capital expenditures this year for exploration activities and retooling of new equipment.
At the sidelines of the company’s special stockholders’ meeting yesterday, Philex chairman and chief executive officer Walter Brown said P625 million of the proposed capital budget would go to the exploration of gold and copper while the rest will be used to fund other capital requirements.
Among the mines under exploration include those in Padcal,
Philex posted a net income of P5 billion last year, up 62 percent from a year earlier, on higher metal prices and volumes sold. This translated to earnings per share of P1.697 compared with P1.044 the previous year.
Operating revenues grew 22.5 percent to P12.2 billion from only P9.96 billion a year earlier.
Philex delivered a total of P906 million worth of metals last month, consisting of 1.67 kilos of copper; 356,148 grams of gold and 333,198 grams of silver.
Philex earlier acquired 46 percent of Canadian-based FEC Resources Inc. for $5 million through a private placement. The move is part of the group’s strategy of increasing its portfolio in petroenergy.
FEC holds a diverse portfolio of oil and gas properties in the
The company is also Philex’s joint venture partner in Philex Gold Phils.
The purchase follows Philex’s purchase of a 4.4-percent stake in Pitkin Petroleum Ltd., a Texas-based junior exploration company, for $2 million.
Pitkin is producing on a small-scale basis in
The drilling in Vietnam is scheduled to commence in 2009 where Pitkin is 40 percent carried for two wells costing at about $53 million, with a partner in the United Kingdom with a $2-billion market capitalization.
Philex currently has interests in three other petroleum projects in North West Palawan and South
Philex earlier said it plans to acquire additional mining properties to sustain production.
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