 High Grade in the Philippines
Bob Moriarty
Archives
Apr 7, 2010
In Vancouver two years ago, actually
26 months ago, I saw a sample of the highest-grade ore I have
ever seen. A month or so later, I managed to go to the Philippines
to visit the company.
The company was called Philippine Metals
Corp. (PHI-V) I was impressed enough with the rocks and the company
that I invested a small amount in a private placement. The company
was still private. I went to the Philippines and visited two
of the projects. They were quite interesting.
Grab samples from Malitao averaged 34%
copper, 3% zinc, 17.5 ounces silver and 1.2 g/t gold. It was
a sulfide ore, so rich that it changed color right in front of
you. The company seemed like a slam-dunk. That was two years
ago.
What neither the Canadian management
of PHI nor I knew was that the geologist who brought the projects
to them hadn't been quite candid about local issues. And while
we believed the project would be drilled in a few months, actually
it has taken over two years to sort out the mess the original
geologist left. But he did leave and the issues have been sorted
out.
The company goes public today. It has
three world-class potential copper projects in a country the
US State Department says, "The Philippines is one of
the world's most highly mineralized countries, with untapped
mineral wealth estimated at more than $840 billion."
Based on a non-43-101 historical estimate
based on 27 drill holes, just one of those projects, the Dilong
project has 40 million tons of .5% copper. That would be worth
$1.2 billion in the ground today. And the Dilong property isn't
the high-grade project.
Another, the Tarus project contains a
historical resource in the 6.5 million ton range with 2.26% copper.
That's worth $900 million in the ground. And it's not the high-grade
project either. The really high-grade monster is Malitao.
The Philippines is a tough place to work.
While the country is poor, the local people have seen little
benefit from past mining and it's not popular. The mineral richness
has to be seen to be believed but you have to have the right
projects and support of the local communities or you are dead
in the water. I've used the term many times, "The locals
can't make you succeed, but they can make you fail." Nowhere
on earth is that more true than the Philippines.
Luckily, PHI has excellent people on
the ground and they have sorted out the very real issues that
existed. Drilling should commence shortly. Results will be interesting.
The company is well cashed up with over
$7 million in the kitty. Tarus and Dilong were mined before and
drilling will be aimed at expanding the resource and increasing
the quality of the drilling date. Malitao needs a lot of ground
preparation and mapping before drilling but the samples I have
seen and have taken are world class. If they locate the source,
the potential for a world-class project is very real.
At this point, I don't know what the
company will be valued at. From my two trips I can say I have
a lot of confidence that drilling will be successful. I don't
want to suggest that any work in the Philippines is a slam-dunk,
it's a difficult environment but management is experienced and
I think the company will be a major player in the western Pacific.
I like management, they are about to
become advertisers, I have participated in two different Private
Placements and I am biased. Please do your own due diligence
and take some responsibility for your own actions and investments.
Philippine Metals Corp
PHI-V - [commences trading Apr
7, 2010]
Philippine Metals website
Bob Moriarty
President: 321gold
Archives
321gold Ltd
|
