The Philippine operating affiliate of Canadian miner TVI Pacific Inc. has completed the fifth shipment of zinc concentrate from its Canatuan mine.

In a statement, TVI Pacific said that TVI Resource Development (Phils.) Inc. (Tvird) has completed on December 18, 2012 the shipment of some 4,470 dry metric tons of concentrate containing 47.47 percent zinc.

Gross revenue of $3.8 million is expected to be received for the shipment, the company added.

TVIRD’s fifth shipment of zinc concentrate left the port of Santa Maria in Siocon, Zamboanga del Norte, in accordance with the off-take arrangement between Tvird and MRI Trading AG.

The company also said that production remains steady at the Canatuan mine, achieving copper concentrate grade levels between 17 percent and 20 percent, and zinc concentrate grade levels between 47 percent and 55 percent.

TVI Pacific expects zinc concentrate shipments in 2013 to occur every four to six months.
Earlier, TVI said that its geologists estimated that ore deposits in the Canatuan mine would be depleted by the end of 2013.

The Canatuan mine primarily produces copper and zinc, but may also contain gold and silver deposits.

The Tvird is eyeing to develop the nearby mineral-rich Malusok site in Zamboanga del Norte but is prevented by the existing moratorium on the issuance of new mining permits as well as the expansion of existing contract areas.

The Malusok site, which is expected to extend the life of the Canatuan mine, is located only three kilometers from the mine and is inside the mineral production and sharing agreement area of the Canatuan mine.

Malusok is located within the 8,000-hectare of land covered by a Certificate of Ancestral Domain Title of the Subanon tribe which, according to Tvird, had given consent to mine the area.

The new mining policy prohibits the issuance of new mining permits pending the passage of a law rationalizing the revenue sharing between the state and mining firms.

The expansion of existing contract areas is also probihited unless it is determined by the government that the areas belong to industries producing commodities that have a critical effect to economic expansion.