Balabag Gold-Silver Project

At A Glance
Ownership TVI Resource Development Philippines Inc. (100%)
Location Sitio Balabag, Bayog Municipality, Zamboanga del Sur
Business activities Open pit mine producing gold and silver doré by bulk flotation and cyanidation process
Deposit Type Low Sulphidation Epithermal Vein Type Deposit
Resource 4.35 M metric ton with average grade of 1.79 g/t Au, 43.08 g/t Ag and 2.36 g/t AuEq
Logistics Contract area is within approximately 1.0-hour driving time to nearest airport in the provincial capital of Pagadian

The Balabag Gold-Silver Project is 100% owned by TVI Resource Development Philippines Inc. (TVIRD), which acquired the license to explore and develop the contract area from Zamboanga Minerals Corporation (ZMC) in 2009. It is covered by a Mineral Production Sharing Agreement (“MPSA”) denominated as MPSA-086-97-IX, with a total area of 4,779 hectares.

The Balabag Project has been in commercial operation since September 2021 and has an approved Declaration of Mining Project Feasibility (DMPF), Environment Protection and Enhancement Plan (EPEP), Final Mine Rehabilitation and Decommissioning Plan (FMRDP), Environmental Compliance Certificate (ECC), Tree Cutting Permit (TCP) and Three-Year Development / Utilization Work Program covering development and operational stages of the project.

Mineral exploration activities conducted by TVIRD such as detailed geological mapping, outcrop sampling and diamond drilling since 2005 have confirmed the presence of mineralized bodies within the east-west trending epithermal vein system in Balabag Hill. Gold and silver are the two elements of economic interest which have been identified thus far in the Balabag Project.

The estimated Measured and Indicated Mineral Resource is at 331K AuEq ounces. The mine has produced approximately 52K AuEq ounces as of December 31, 2022.

The project is situated approximately 75 aerial kilometers east-northeast of the Canatuan copper-zinc mine – TVIRD’s former flagship project. It is located at Sitio Balabag, Barangay Depore, Municipality of Bayog, Province of Zamboanga del Sur.

It is accessible from Manila by air transportation to either airports in Zamboanga or Pagadian City. From either point, the property is accessible via the Zamboanga-Pagadian National Highway. From the town center of Bayog, the project site can be accessed in approximately 45 minutes via a 14-km all-weather road.

The oldest rock unit mapped in the MPSA area is a diorite intrusive inferred as Pre-Oligocene. This is overlain by late Oligocene to Middle Miocene sediments. The sediments are generally steeply dipping and unconformably overlain by volcanic rocks.

The Balabag area is dominantly underlain by volcanic rocks consisting of porphyritic andesite and dacite, pyroclastic lithic tuff and volcanic flow breccia unconformably overlying older sedimentary rocks. This unit constitutes the host rock of the Balabag epithermal gold veins.

A younger intrusive suite of andesite to dacite porphyries intruded the volcanic sequence, sediments and older diorite

Mineralization and Alteration

TVIRD launched a major exploration program consisting of geological mapping, trenching, surface and underground sampling and drilling that defined and classified the Balabag gold-silver deposit as a low sulphidation epithermal gold style of mineralization characterized by quartz veining and stockworkings, hydrothermal breccias and silica replacement in andesitic lava flows and fine-grained laminated tuffs and andesite porphyry.

The quartz veins variably exhibit multiphase brecciation, crustiform – colloform banding and fine saccharoidal texture. Three major vein systems and associated stockworks consisting of Tinago, Miswi and Lalab were defined showing sub-horizontal dipping vein geometry. The quartz veins and breccias are bounded by typical alteration zones in an epithermal environment such as silicification, argilization and propylitization.

Three major quartz vein systems in the area were identified: Tinago-Unao-Unao-Yoyon veins to the north; Miswi veins in the east; and Lalab veins to the south. The veins exhibit various epithermal quartz vein textures such as colloform, crustiform, massive, drusy, vuggy, comb and cockade textures

Multiphase brecciation texture are also dominant. Quartz stringers and quartz stockworks also occur adjacent to most quartz veins ranging from hairline to centimeter sizes. The geometry of the veins and the associated stockworks are generally sub-horizontal at the Tinago and Miswi areas while a sub-vertical attitude of veins is notable in the Lalab area.

TVIRD started its own drilling program on November 17, 2005 with the first hole, BDDH-05-01, collared at central Tinago area. Two drill holes were completed during the year incurring a total meterage of 131.30 meters. The following year, drilling accelerated and 57 drill holes at 50-meter intervals were completed with a total meterage of 6,822.10.

Further to the encouraging results, TVI embarked on an infill drilling campaign in 2007 with drillhole spacing reduced to 25 meters. Accumulated drilling meterage incurred through this initiative in 2007 was 4,021.30 meters from 42 drillholes.

In February 2010, TVI resumed infill drilling after a three-year hiatus with the collaring of BLDH-10-100 in Unao-Unao. Several subsequent phases of drilling were completed until the second quarter of 2012, including sterilization holes along the proposed sites of the mill, mine camp, waste dump and tailings storage area. A total of 177 drillholes incurring a total of 21,960.35 meters were generated from the year 2010 to 2012. Several holes were also drilled to the west of Balabag Hill to chase the possible western extension of the Tinago vein system.

Drilling restarted in February 2013 and another 18 holes with a total of 1,220.55 meters were completed until April 2013. In-fill drilling consisting of the Phase 1 to 4 drilling program resumed in the latter part of the year 2018 and continued through to the end of year 2020, incurring an additional 86 drill holes with a total of 7,031.90 meters.

The total number of holes drilled by TVIRD since 2005 to the end of 2020 at Balabag is 382 drill holes equivalent to 41,161.60 meters.

Complementing the drilling program were activities that include detailed surface and underground geologic mapping and sampling, tracing continuities of major quartz veins that further lead to discovery of multi-directional vein system at Tinago, Miswi and Lalab.

The exploration work was implemented following established guidelines and standard protocols for drilling, geological and geotechnical logging, core photography, sample preparation and dispatch, bulk density measurement and assaying. Quality control program implementation includes insertion of duplicates, blanks and Certified Reference Materials (CRM).

The most recent Mineral Resource Report published for Balabag was released in May 2021 signed by Jaime C. Zafra PGeo FAussIMM (NI 43-101 Exploration Results and Mineral Resource Update Report on the Balabag Gold-Silver Project).

The estimated Measured and Indicated Mineral Resource for Balabag using a cut-off grade of  0.4 g/t AuEq is 4.35 million tonnes at 1.79 g/t Au and 43.08 g/t Ag for 2.36 g/t AuEq. This is equivalent to approximately 331,000 AuEq oz at metal prices of US$1,500/oz Au and US$20/oz Ag. The estimated Inferred Resource is 140,919 tonnes at 2.78 g/t Au and 64.11 g/t Ag for 3.63 g/t AuEq.

Table 1. Mineral Resource Estimate for Balabag Gold-Silver Project, May 2021.

Ore Reserve1

Based on the Ore Reserve Report certified by Marcelo A. Bolano (Competent Person under PMRC) in July 2015, Balabag Project has an ore reserve estimate of 153K AuEq ounces that is currently extracted by open pit method.

Table 2. Ore Reserve Estimate for Balabag Gold-Silver Project, July 2015

Ore Reserve2

The initial ore reserve projection was increased to an estimate of 247K AuEq ounces as a result of expanded Mineral Resource based on exploration drilling from 2018 to 2020. As of December 31, 2022, approximately 52K AuEq ounces of ore were processed, with a remaining projected ore reserve of 195K AuEq ounces (2.48 Mt at 2.3 g/t Au and 43.74 g/t Ag, COG 0.65 g/t AuEq).

With an average milling rate of 2000 to 2500 tons per day, the expected mine life based on updated ore reserve assessment will be until mid of year 2026.