LEPANTO Consolidated Mining Co. more than doubled its net income in the first half to P1.59 billion from P771 million a year earlier as higher gold and silver prices lifted revenues.
In a disclosure on Tuesday, the miner said the higher bottom line was achieved despite production remaining at 10,931 ounces of gold and 21,346 ounces of silver.
Consolidated gross revenues climbed 47 percent to P3.24 billion from P2.20 billion, lifted by higher gold and silver prices and amid a weaker peso against the dollar.
Lepanto noted that the average gold price rose to $4,684.40 per ounce from $3,084.80 a year earlier, while that for silver more than doubled to $80.66 per ounce from $32.94.
The company said it continued production from its Victoria and Teresa orebodies during the first half as it pursued efforts to improve productivity and metal recoveries through equipment upgrades and rehabilitation, with five active drilling rigs deployed for grade control and exploration.
Meanwhile, Lepanto and subsidiary Far Southeast Gold Resources Inc. signed a memorandum of agreement with the Indigenous Peoples of the Mankayan Ancestral Domain on July 30, granting the companies free and prior informed consent for the renewal of their Mineral Production Sharing Agreement (MPSA) 001-90-CAR.
The agreement has a term of 25 years and was signed with the municipal mayor of Mankayan and elected elders and leaders representing the municipality’s 12 barangay (villages). Representatives from the National Commission on Indigenous Peoples (NCIP) and the Mines and Geosciences Bureau (MGB) witnessed.
The memorandum will be submitted to the NCIP for approval. The approval will take the form of a Certification Precondition, which will then be submitted to the MGB for the renewal of MPSA 001.
Lepanto shares on Tuesday added 2.54 percent to close at P0.242 each.
