Local jobs are the focus of a partnership between Celsius Resources Ltd (ASX:CLA, AIM:CLA) Phillipines affiliate Makilala Mining Company Inc (MMCI) and the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA), which will develop community skills for Celsius’ flagship Maalinao-Caigutan-Biyog (MCB) Copper-Gold Project.
Community engagement
The parties inked a Memorandum of Agreement (MoA) on October 3 to build the capacity of qualified people from the local community ahead of early construction and operations works on the project, which are expected to start this year with the mine-life of the project being an expected 25 years.
TESDA is a government agency mandated to provide technical manpower skills to the country’s workforce and the partnership is in line with TESDA’s goals of developing “world-class competence and positive work values” among the Filipino workforce.
It also aligns with MMCI’s synergistic approach for the efficient use of resources to achieve common goals.
Empowering locals
Celsius sustainability director Attilenore Manero said: “Our partnership with TESDA is an important step towards empowering the local community by providing practical skills training that equips residents to better participate in the opportunities presented by the MCB Mining Project.
“This initiative helps ensure that community members are prepared to take advantage of job and business opportunities, thus fostering long-term growth.
“This collaboration supports the national goal of building a skilled workforce that can contribute to the country’s sustainable economic growth.
“It also strengthens the project’s social foundations by optimising community engagement and reinforcing our belief that sustainable growth and community well-being can go hand-in-hand striking a balance between our economic objectives and social development objectives.”
Under the Community-Based Skills Training Program, MMCI and TESDA Cordillera Administrative Region (TESDA-CAR) will jointly design, develop and implement training programs that meet national competency standards and the requirements of the MCB Project.
The Memorandum of Agreement is signed by MMCI and local government agency TESDA.
Now that the agreement has been signed, MMCI and TESDA-CAR will develop a work plan outlining the necessary human, material and financial resources to effectively and efficiently operationalise the agreement.
Initially, the training program will prioritise construction skills such as carpentry, masonry, construction painting, tile setting, formworks installation, welding, reinforcing steel works and plumbing.
About the MCB Project
The MCB Copper-Gold Project in the Cordillera Administrative Region of the Philippines, around 320 kilometres north of Manila, is the flagship asset in the Makilala portfolio.
The company released the project’s maiden mineral resource estimate (MRE) in January 2021, which set out 313.8 million tonnes at 0.48% copper and 0.15 g/t gold, equating to 1.5 million tonnes of contained copper and 1.47 million ounces of gold.
This included 290.3 million tonnes classified as indicated and 23.5 million tonnes classified as inferred.
An updated MRE on December 12, 2022, upgraded the resource to 338 million tonnes at 0.47% copper and 0.12 g/t gold, with 1.6 million tonnes of contained copper and 1.3 million ounces of gold. This includes 47 million tonnes classified as measured.
A 2021 study pointed to the potential for a 25-year underground mining operation at MCB, producing copper-gold concentrate.
The project has a post-tax net present value (NPV8%) of US$464 million and an internal rate of return (IRR) of 31%, based on copper and gold prices of US$4.00 a pound and US$1,695 an ounce, respectively.
Initial capital expenditure is estimated at US$253 million, with a payback period of 2.7 years.
The designed 2.28 million tonnes per annum processing plant will handle ore at an average grade of 1.14% copper and 0.54 g/t gold for the first 10 years, with low cash costs of US$0.73/lb copper, net of gold credits.