Pangilinan-led Philex Mining Corp., the country’s largest gold producer, on Thursday confirmed the $2-billion Silangan Mine project started the pre-full development phase after the Mines and Geosciences Bureau (MGB) approved the declaration of mining project feasibility (DMPF) of the venture.

In a regulatory filing, Philex said the MGB’s approval of the mining method incorporated a three-year work program beginning the second half of 2019 until the first half of 2022.

“We are targeting to conclude the strategic partner and finalizing contracts within the first half of 2020, paving way for the development,” Philex Mining President and Chief Executive Officer Eulalio Austin Jr. said in an ambush interview.

Dubbed as one of three big-ticket mining projects, Austin said the project is a large-scale high-grade copper-gold development in Surigao del Norte, Mindanao.

Silangan’s tenements are composed of the Boyongan deposit and Bayugo deposit, covering Bayugo-Silangan and Bayugo-Kalayaan, with the latter being held by the company through a joint venture with Manila Mining Corp.

Based on the development timeline, the Silangan Project will be developed in phases.

The Boyongan deposit, eyed as the maiden phase, will be fully developed within two and a half years. It has an initially estimated mine life of 22 years.

For this initial stage, Silangan is expected to yield high-grade mineable ore grades of 0.63 percent for copper and 1.20 grams per ton for gold.

“The mine is designed for four million tons per year… We will start lower, then in the second year, which is in 2023, it will be a full four million tons per year,” Austin explained.

The second phase, which will be comprised of the Bayugo deposit (covering Bayugo-Silangan and Bayugo-Kalayaan), has an ongoing preliminary feasibility study utilizing the underground mining method and PFS will be completed within 2019.