Overview

The Agata nickel laterite DSO project is managed by joint venture company Agata Mining Ventures Inc. (AMVI), in which TVIRD holds a 60% interest and is the operator. The remaining shares are held by Minimax Mineral Exploration Corporation and MRL Nickel Philippines Inc.

The project is located in a 4,995-hectare Mineral Processing Sharing Agreement (MPSA) area located in the adjacent municipalities of Tubay, Jabonga and Santiago in Agusan del Norte province, within the Surigao mining region on the island of Mindanao, the Philippines. The Surigao region is a major lateritic nickel producing region providing ore to processing plants in Australia, China, Korea and Japan.

The project mine site is located just 3.5 km from its own deeply protected seaport which provides the opportunity for year-round shipping.

Resources & Reserves

An April 2013 NI 43-101 compliant technical report shows the project to have nickel laterite resources of 33.9 million tonnes grading 1.1% nickel and 22.5% iron in the Measured and Indicated categories and an additional 2.1 million tonnes grading 1.0% nickel and 16.3% iron in the Inferred resource category.

Please click here  to see the NI 43-101 technical report dated April 10, 2013 entitled "Independent Report On the Nickel Laterite Resource Agata North, Philippines.”

The above resource formed the basis of a Mineral Reserve estimate for a Feasibility Study completed on the DSO operation in August 2013 which shows Proven and Probable Reserves of 9.7 million wet metric tonnes with a grade of 48% Fe with 0.9% Ni.

Please click here  to see the NI 43-101 technical report dated August 30, 2013 entitled "Technical Report for the Agata North Nickel Laterite DSO Project, Mindanao, Philippines.”

AMVI has engaged the services of a third party Qualified Person to review the remaining resource and reserves of the project. The review may result in an increase or decrease of the remaining mineable reserves and mine life of the project. The review is expected to be completed through the second half of 2020 and will include additional resources found beyond the previous pit limits.

Operations

Nickel laterite direct shipping ore operations began in October 2014 consisting of weekly shipments of approximately 55,000 wet metric tonnes (wmt) of high-iron/low nickel limonite ore as well as higher nickel content saprolite ore. Over 400 people are employed at the mine and a total of 12.88 million wet metric tonnes have been shipped through 240 shipments as at the end of October 2019.

AMVI’s Agata operation was the first Philippine mining operation to be awarded the Titanium Award at the Presidential Mineral Industry and Environmental Awards Ceremony in November 2015 after just one year in operation. The Titanium Award recognized AMVI for exceptional implementation of its approved Environment Protection and Enhancement Program, Social Development and Management Program and its ongoing Occupational Health and Safety Program.  The operation was again awarded the same Titanium Award at the 2016 Presidential Mineral Industry and Environmental Awards Ceremony, the Platinum Award at the 2017 ceremony and, most notably, has received in 2018 and again in 2019 the highest award given by the Presidential Mineral Industry and Environmental Awards Selection Committee – the Presidential Industry Award.

AMVI is proud to share the following video of its activities that has been submitted as an official entry for the 2019 ASEAN Mineral Awards.  Please view the link https://youtu.be/54f_jlWT3PQ.

Exploration

From October 2014 to April 2015, TVIRD has completed a 16,768-metre, 986-hole drill program to validate and increase the existing resources previously disclosed in April 2013. A Philippine Mineral Reporting Code report was completed on the project which will support the project's valuation when TVIRD seeks to list on the Philippine Stock Exchange in the future.

For more information, please visit TVIRD’s website at www.tvird.com.ph.

Overview

The Agata project is held by Agata Mining Ventures Inc. (AMVI), a joint venture company in which TVIRD holds a 60% interest and is the operator.

The project is located in a 4,995-hectare Mineral Processing Sharing Agreement (MPSA) area located in the adjacent municipalities of Tubay, Jabonga and Santiago in Agusan del Norte province. It is accessible by land (approximately 1.5-hours driving time) from the provincial capital of Butuan.

The project is situated to the south of TVIRD's current Agata nickel laterite direct shipping ore ("DSO") operation and immediately adjacent to the causeway facilities that were built to support the DSO operations.

Exploration

From November 2014 to April 2015, AMVI completed a 17-hole drill program aimed establishing an initial resource estimate at the project. Drill results had confirmed the presence of a high-purity recrystallized limestone deposit covering an area of 600 metres by 650 metres. Significant intercepts yielded between 80% to 100% CaCO₃. The Resource estimate is not compliant with NI 43-101 but the results have been used as the basis for a technical report compiled to Philippine Mineral Reporting Code standards which was completed in August 2015.

Further evaluation of the three other potential limestone sites is currently underway. An exploration permit (EP 27) covering both San Vicente and San Jose has been renewed thereby allowing drilling in San Vicente to proceed. Drilling in San Vicente was completed in June 2018 with 10 holes with a meterage of 1,109 meters. The evaluation of other limestone potential sites located south of the Payong-payong in Tinigbasan, Tagpangahoy, and Binuangan are also ongoing. AMVI expects to release a NI 43-101 compliant report on the limestone project through the second half of 2020.

Development

AMVI is continuing to evaluate the feasibility of commencing a limestone direct shipping ore operation or producing hydrated lime and a higher value ground calcium carbonate (“GCC”) product marketable to the paper and plastics industries in Asia. Due to the project's close proximity to the causeway where materials will be shipped, potential operations will benefit from having low transport and handling costs.

For more information, please visit TVIRD’s website at www.tvird.com.ph.

Overview

The following is a time progression of development of the Balabag Gold Project from January 2020 through to August 2, 2020:

TVIRD owns 100% of the Balabag project.  The project covers a 4,779-hectare Mineral Processing Sharing Agreement (“MPSA”) located in the municipalities of Bayog, Zamboanga Del Sur and Zamboanga Sibugay Province, Island of Mindanao, Philippines.  The project is situated approximately 75 kilometers (47 miles) east-northeast of TVIRD’s Canatuan mine.

TVI Pacific announced on November 22, 2019 that TVIRD had officially determined to advance its Balabag gold and silver mining project towards commercial production and is progressing with various development works.  The production decision followed the closing and first drawdown by TVIRD, announced on October 22 and October 24, 2019, respectively, of a US$28.5 million term loan facility (the “Facility”) with China Banking Corporation.  The Facility has been provided specifically to finance construction of infrastructure at the Balabag project and is expected to be sufficient to enable Balabag to become operational while the remaining capex until the end of mine life will be funded by the Balabag operations.  Prior to the first drawdown, TVIRD funded development works with internally generated funds which equate to approximately US $14.5 million, including the cost of Canatuan equipment that has been decommissioned, fully rehabilitated and is being rehabilitated for use at Balabag to reduce overall capital expenditures.

On May 12, 2020, TVI Pacific announced that TVIRD had completed its seventh and final drawdown under the Facility provided by China Banking Corporation to bring the total drawn to date equal to the total of the available Facility at US $28.5 million.  The remaining balance of the drawn funds are now held within the accounts of TVIRD and are managed directly to fund contractor and equipment suppliers as commitments come due.  TVI Pacific does not currently have any spending commitments with respect to Balabag whatsoever.  TVIRD is not funded by new shareholder capital or shareholder loans and TVIRD does not have the contractual right to compel TVI Pacific to provide any funding.  As mentioned previously, it is expected that the Facility described above to finance construction of infrastructure at the Balabag project will be sufficient to enable Balabag to become operational while the remaining capex until the end of mine life will be funded by the Balabag operations.  

Resources

Based on results of drilling completed to the end of June 2011 and as included in the Balabag NI 43-101 technical report dated June 23, 2012, the current indicated mineral resource is estimated to be 1.78 million tonnes averaging 2.34 g/t gold and 72.3 g/t silver, containing 134,262 ounces of gold and 4,148,196 ounces of silver.

TVI Pacific released on October 18, 2019 an updated NI 43-101 entitled “NI 43-101 Technical Report: Balabag Gold and Silver Project, Balabag, Depore, Zamboanga del Sur, Philippines” but at the request of the Investment Industry Regulatory Organization of Canada (“IIROC”) issued an announcement on November 22, 2019 to clarify and retract certain disclosure contained in the related press release as well as the updated Technical Report itself.  The press release referenced this updated Technical Report and stated that certain scientific and technical information noted in the press release was based on information provided by technical personnel of TVIRD, as supported by a mine visit in April 2019 by the Company's nominated Qualified Person who had authored the Report.  As stated in the Company’s press release of November 22, 2019, the updated Technical Report filed on SEDAR on October 18, 2019 was not prepared in compliance with National Instrument 43-101 – Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects.  Specifically, certain components of the updated Technical Report, including the mineral resource estimate on which it is based, were not prepared independently of TVIRD and therefore were not prepared in accordance with the requirements of NI 43-101.  The Company has therefore withdrawn the scientific and technical disclosure set out in the press release and readers are cautioned that the scientific and technical disclosure set out in that press release, and the Report itself, should not be relied upon to the extent the disclosure was not in compliance with NI 43-101 criteria.

The Company is continuing to evaluate steps that it may take to establish a NI 43-101-compliant basis for future scientific and technical disclosure concerning Balabag.  In the interim, the Company, as a minority shareholder of TVIRD, expects to continue to support TVIRD in its efforts to construct required infrastructure for the Balabag project.

The Company wishes to clarify also that in making the decision to put Balabag into production, TVIRD, a Philippine corporation that the Company does not control, relied exclusively on technical and economic analysis prepared under Philippine regulations and did not rely on TVI's updated Technical Report of October 18^th, 2019 or any feasibility study classifying mineral reserves prepared in accordance with NI 43-101.  Historically such projects have a much higher risk of economic and technical failure.

Please click here  to see the NI43-101 technical report dated June 23, 2012 entitled "NI 43-101 Technical Report on the Balabag Gold Project, Zamboanga Province, Philippines”.

 

Development

As reported earlier, TVI Pacific announced on November 22, 2019 that TVIRD has officially determined to advance its Balabag gold and silver mining project towards commercial production and is progressing with various development works.  This follows receipt in October 2013 of the Environmental Compliance Certificate (“ECC”) and in April 2016 the Declaration of Mining Project Feasibility (“DMPF”) as well as the Special Tree-Cutting and Earth Balling Permit from the Forest Management Bureau (“FMB”) of the Department of Energy and Natural Resources (“DENR”) in May 2018.   

TVIRD awarded the contract in 2019 to undertake a design review and to provide construction supervision services for the Balabag Tailings Storage Facility (“TSF”) to GHD Pty Ltd, one of the world's leading professional services companies operating in the global markets of water, energy and resources, environment, property and buildings, and transportation and work is progressing.

Development work is proceeding under the direction of Mr. Yulo Perez, President of TVIRD, who previously led mine development works and operations at TVIRD's successful Canatuan mine Phases 1 (Gold/Silver) and 2 (Copper/Zinc) as Vice-President of Operations and Chief Operations Officer of TVIRD.  Mr. Perez helped contribute to the receipt by TVIRD of multiple awards from the Philippine government and leading mining industry associations.

Project development continues to move forward as evidenced in the following photos:

 

Ongoing works related to construction of permanent accommodations:

 

Exploration

As at July 2020, 313 holes have been drilled for a total of 35,749 meters under the resource definition drilling program at the Balabag project.  Seventeen drill holes with total meterage of 1,448 were completed for the Phase 3 drilling program.  The recent drilling aimed to validate vein projections interpreted from underground tunnels and previous drilling in Miswi and east of Tinago.  Initial results confirm vein continuity in Miswi both near surface and at depth.  Significant vein intercepts were reported from the Unao-Unao area, where fault structures were observed. 

Supplementary drilling has been initiated to test vein extensions further northeast of Tinago.  Six additional holes are planned with an estimate of 500 meters.  The resource model will be updated based on the results of the Phase 2 and Phase 3 drilling. 

Exploration work has also included mapping and sampling of underground tunnels, which has extended into Mossad (north of Balabag hill).  Data from the recent drilling campaign continues to be analyzed.

For more information, please visit TVIRD’s website at www.tvird.com.ph.

Overview

Canatuan is owned 100% by TVIRD. The project is a volcanogenic massive sulphide (VMS) deposit located in the Province of Zamboanga del Norte on the island of Mindanao in the Philippines.

From 2004 to mid-2008 TVIRD produced gold and silver doré from an overlying gossan (oxidized) portion of the deposit. As this upper portion of the orebody was mined out, the underlying primary sulphide portion of the deposit containing copper and zinc was exposed.

By November 2008, TVIRD had completed construction of a sulphide production plant to process the underlying sulphide orebody containing copper and zinc and commenced commercial production of copper concentrate in March 2009. From March 2009 to February 2014, TVIRD completed 39 shipments of copper concentrate for a total volume of 199,778 dmt and 7 shipments of zinc concentrate for a total volume of 30,548 dmt. Milling operations concluded in January 2014.

Current Status

The Canatuan processing plant has been decommissioned and equipment reconditioned for use in the Balabag Project. Among the prospects TVIRD is exploring are possible new discoveries from exploration drill targets outside of the pit area, possible production of pyrite concentrates, re-processing of tails and harnessing possible economic deposits from outside the current MPSA – Malusok and SE Malusok – which are located at a short trucking distance from the Canatuan mine pit. TVIRD’s application for expansion of its current MPSA to include these deposits in areas adjacent to its current contract area had been approved by the MGB.

Rehabilitation

Following the end of mining and processing operations in January 2014, decommissioning and rehabilitation activities within the disturbed areas commenced. Approximately 183 hectares are subject to the closure programs as identified in the approved Final Mine Rehabilitation and Decommissioning Plan (FMRDP).

Year 2014 was considered a Transition Period prior to implementation of the final mine closure plan. Activities during this period were limited to equipment decommissioning, care and maintenance of the areas that had undergone prior progressive rehabilitation and preparation of the area for implementation of the FMRDP.

An Active Closure Phase followed in Year 2015 and continued through mid-2018. The program was designed to focus on structural improvements for drainage, erosion control and slope stability as well as soil conditioning and preparation and planting of cash crops and diverse forest species. To date, 168 hectares, representing 92% of the total disturbed area, is rehabilitated. TVIRD has also planted close to 600,000 trees, including contributions to the National Greening Program.

A Passive Closure Phase was scheduled for the remaining half of 2018 and is expected to continue through 2020. The activities are designed to focus on care and maintenance of the rehabilitation programs completed during progressive rehabilitation during the operations phase and those activities completed during the Active Closure Phase.

Both Third Party and internal environmental monitoring programs were planned to continue throughout the mine closure period. The internal monitoring program involves regular data collection for meteorology, water quality, stream hydrology and instrumentation data collection for the Tailings Storage Facility. Third Party monitoring programs completed during the Active Closure Phase include flora and fauna monitoring, air quality monitoring, and aquatic habitat monitoring.

Additional Exploration Potential

TVI has an extensive 352 square kilometer (136 square mile) package of tenement applications surrounding the Canatuan mine that make up the Greater Canatuan Tenement Area (GCTA). Volcanogenic sulphide deposits, like Canatuan, rarely occur in isolation. TVIRD believes that similar Canatuan-style deposits exist within the GCTA and that there is a potential for discovering extension developments.

MPSA processing and approval are on hold due to the ongoing moratorium on new mineral permit applications imposed by the Secretary of the Department of the Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) in compliance with Executive Order No. 79, Series of 2012. In March 2013, the DENR lifted the moratorium on application for exploration permits but retained the moratorium on MPSAs and financial or technical assistance agreements despite the signing of the much awaited Executive Order by the President of the Philippines. In November 2014, the DENR’s Mines and Geosciences Bureau (MGB) relaxed the current mining policy, allowing companies faced with depleting reserves to expand their contract areas.

In July 2018, the DENR lifted the Moratorium on the acceptance, processing and/or approval of Exploration Permit applications. The order took effect on August 10, 2018.

For more information, please visit TVIRD’s website at www.tvird.com.ph.

The North Zamboanga tenements consist of 11 permit applications covering 1,240 square kilometres (771 square miles) of the Zamboanga Peninsula on the island of Mindanao in the Philippines. The properties are 100% owned by TVIRD.

The current permit applications cover a number of mineral targets identified by a prior exploration program conducted by a major international company, numbering over 20 epithermal gold, massive sulphide and porphyry copper-gold prospects. Reconnaissance work carried out to date has supported historical findings and has resulted in the discovery of additional prospects of interest. Indications of mineralization often occur on the surface and have been easily accessible to our exploration teams.

Among the more prominent prospects in the North Zamboanga tenement package is the Bonbon area, which is covered by an 81 square kilometre (50 square mile) Exploration Permit Application. Bonbon is made up of a series of north-northwest trending quartz veinlets/stockworks in highly altered volcanics and intrusives, spread over a 10 kilometre (6 mile) long by 2 kilometre (1 mile) wide area. Geologic mapping and sampling as well as geophysical surveys are in the planning stages in order to locate prospective drill targets.

For more information, please visit TVIRD’s website at www.tvird.com.ph.

In 2013, TVIRD created a wholly owned subsidiary, TVI Agriproducts Inc., which entered into a 50:50 agribusiness joint venture with agricultural commodity manufacturer and marketer Kennemer Foods International to create and establish of a joint agri-enterprise for cacao production via company-managed plantations in the municipalities of Siocon and Baliguian in Zamboanga Del Norte.  Siocon and Baliguian are neighboring municipalities of TVIRD’s Canatuan mine which was decommissioned in late 2013.

Under the agreement, both companies will undertake the development of plantations through consolidated landholdings either through lease or revenue sharing agreements together with individual farmers and lot owners and recognized indigenous peoples communities.  Each plantation will have a consolidated area of no less than 100 hectares within the ancestral domain of the Subanons – TVIRD’s indigenous hosts - and nearby areas. The agreement also specifies the development of contract growing agreements with the farmers wherein the cacao produced from the plantations will be marketed and exported according to mutually-agreed terms of yield-sharing.

As the first local company to operate under the Mining Act of 1995, TVIRD has introduced livelihood programs to the community as part of its corporate social commitments and the joint agri-enterprise represents its most aggressive initiative to date. The initiative is set to provide the immediate community with a sustainable enterprise beyond the life-of-mine. The company also has interests in neighboring Balabag and in Agusan Del Norte.

Based on a development roadmap culled from a study conducted by the University of Asia and the Pacific (UA&P), the project would expand to a total of 1,600 hectares over four years, depending on available land, and at a financial internal rate of return of seven years.

Additionally, the project could generate close to 1,300 jobs for the local community or an additional 400 jobs if TVIRD workers are absorbed by the joint venture company.

For more information, please visit TVIRD’s website at www.tvird.com.ph.