PHILEX Mining Corp. expects to see its first ore shipment from its Silangan mine in Surigao del Norte by the fourth quarter of next year, a top company official said Friday.

"Right now ... we are looking at 2025 as the first delivery of metal from there," Philex Mining President and Chief Executive Officer Eulalio Austin Jr. told reporters in an interview.

"We have already started the groundworks. With the tailings pond, we have already begun laying the foundation of the dam, and for the processing plant, we are [now] leveling the ground there," Austin said.

"For the underground developments, as you are aware, we are just 200 meters from the ore body already, and we expect to reach that by the end of June or by July this year," he said.

The mining firm is also looking at options on how to fast-track the deliveries "as there might be some suppliers aside from the ones [that] we have identified that could deliver the orders earlier," Austin said.

"But right now, we are encountering problems on the delivery of equipment we need because of logistics challenges," he added.

The mining firm also assured it has raised enough funds to start the operation of the project as scheduled.

"If you have been following us, we have successfully raised the initial capital of $224 million already from local banks," Austin said.

Last February, Philex Mining said that its subsidiary, Silangan Mindanao Mining Co. Inc., had secured an additional loan of $70 million to initiate the operations of the Silangan mine.

The latest borrowing completed the total loan facility of $170 million needed to bring the Silangan Project into commercial operation.

Meanwhile, Philex reported that for the first quarter of this year, it posted a core net income of P105 million and a net income of P115 million, both down sharply from the P388 million and P390 million booked, respectively, in the first quarter of 2023.

The Pangilinan-led mining company said the first-quarter net income was lower on softer revenues due to reduced copper and gold output in the period, cushioned slightly by higher gold prices in the international market.

Philex Mining shares closed Friday unchanged at P2.90 each amid a 0.47 percent decline in the benchmark Philippine Stock Exchange index.

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