The Balabag gold-silver mineralization is interpreted as a low-sulphidation epithermal vein system hosted in andesitic lava flows and pyroclastics. Multiple-stage massive to crustiform banded fracture-fill and breccia cement assemblages mostly comprising of chalcedonic to mosaic quartz, in paragenetic association with less abundant adularia, chlorite, illite and carbonate enclosing and dispersed with only minor amounts of sulphide, define a lowsulphidation epithermal environment of precious metal mineralization. The hydrothermal fluid flow and resulting mineralization have taken place at around 220 to 240°C.

Three major quartz vein systems identified in the Balabag Hill area are the Tinago-Unao-UnaoYoyon veins to the north, Miswi veins in the east and Lalab veins to the south. The veins exhibit various epithermal quartz vein textures such as colloform, crustiform, massive, drusy, vuggy, comb and cockade textures. Multiphase brecciation textures are also dominant probably because of several pulses of rising hydrothermal fluids. Quartz stringers and quartz stockworks also occur adjacent to most quartz veins ranging from hairline to centimeter sizes. The geometry of the veins and the associated stockworks is generally subhorizontal at the Tinago and Miswi areas while a sub-vertical attitude of veins is exhibited in the Lalab area.

The known mineralization zones at Balabag Hill area either have an east-north-east (Tinago and Unao-Unao), northeast (Miswi) or north-northeast (Lalab) trend. The east-northeast striking mineralization zones have gentler dips (37-50°) to the north or northwest while northnortheast and northeast trending vein zones are moderately to steeply dipping (50-80°) to the northwest. The east-northeast to east-west trending and gently to moderately dipping vein zones occur as tension fractures or gashes while the northeast and north-northeast trending ones are the extension fractures which were filled with silica-quartz-sulfide veins.

Reconnaissance geological and geochemical surveys were conducted covering the whole Balabag MPSA tenement. Principal mineralization and/or deposit types that have been recognized and delineated because of the reconnaissance survey include the following:
- Epithermal Au – Ag mineralization in Balabag
- Epithermal Au prospect in Malagak and Depore – Genaro Rivers
- Porphyry Cu – Mo style of mineralization at Legumbong
- Cu skarn style of mineralization at San Pedro – Dipili
- Base metal mineralization in Upper Dipili

The most prominent mineralization is the high-grade epithermal Au-Ag mineralization at Balabag Hill. Follow-up mapping and sampling, detailed geological surveys and resource drilling have been implemented at the Balabag Hill area.

The Balabag Project hosts quartz-gold-silver mineralization associated with a low-sulphidation epithermal vein system characterized by quartz veining, brecciation, stockworks and silica replacement. High gold and silver grades are associated with quartz veins and breccias having multiple and overprinting epithermal quartz textures and hydrothermal brecciation.

The deposit will be mined using the side cut mining method. It is conceived that the mining unit operations of drilling, blasting, loading and hauling will apply to the Balabag Au-Ag Project.

The deposit will be mined using the side cut technique and will be patterned after Canatuan gossan and sulphide projects’ model of contract mining. The mine will be developed in a series of pushbacks instead of applying the simple ‘top-down’ mining, to minimize the initial stripping requirement and associated costs. The pit will be free-draining. Mining is planned such that no water will accumulate within the pit. Runoffs will be diverted through channels into the tailings storage facility.

Dozers will be utilized for mine development, floor maintenance of active mining areas, ore stockpile and waste dump maintenance, and rehabilitation works. Road grader, vibratory compactor and water truck will be utilized for ancillary activities like maintenance of mine haul roads, the mine-ROM haulage road and all access roads on the project site. All mining equipment will be provided by the mining contractor on a lease arrangement. Since mining operation will be subcontracted, no acquisition of the mobile and heavy equipment will be done since the mining contractor will provide all the mining equipment.

Waste rock excavated from the mine will be loaded in dump trucks and stored in the overburden stockpile (mine waste dump). The pile of waste rock will be spread and compacted by dozers and compactors stationed in the area. Dumping areas will be filled from the bottom upwards to ensure that the materials are properly compacted. The waste dump will be raised in 5 m thick lifts in a 45-degree bench angle (1H:1V). Each lift will have a 5-meter berm, to maintain an overall slope of 26.6 degrees (2H: 1V). In cases where possible, the topsoil recovered from the mine will we stored in a separate area and will be recovered for mine rehabilitation purposes.

Overall Mine Pit Slope
The maximum mine pit slope is 45° or 1H:1V, measuring from crest to crest or toe to toe. The 45° criterion was applied only when defining the initial limits of the pit (using the cut-off grade). Inclusion of haul roads and safety berms results in flatter overall pit slope of approximately 38°.

Bench Design
The design bench slope is 60° or 1H:2V with a bench height of 5 meters and a minimum berm width of 5 meters. To efficiently use the berms, double benching will be employed with a 5-meter berm established every 2nd bench.

Haul Road
The haul roads have a minimum width of 10 meters and a maximum gradient of 10%. The standard road width is 3 times the width of the widest equipment to be used. For this project, it was assumed that the mine will be using 10- wheeler dump trucks and mid-size excavators (CAT 336 and 320).

- subscription is required.

The Project has a Mill and Processing Plant in which the extracted ore was being process into doré bars. The plant consists of a conventional grinding circuit followed by a gravity separation circuit and then a conventional cyanidation leaching circuit. It also includes a flotation circuit with an Electro-winning or Merrill-Crowe circuit. The plant is located northwest of the Surface Mine and was initially estimated to cover an area of 0.5 hectares.

BALABAG MILL PLANT
The plant consists of a hybrid circuit of flotation, Merrill-Crowe, and CIL processes.

Bulk flotation is done to ground ore to produce silver concentrate at 80% recovery. The silver and gold from the flotation concentrate is dissolved by cyanidation process. Pregnant solution containing the gold and silver is recovered by two-stage dewatering, a combination of highrate thickener and filter press; then forwarded to the Merrill-Crowe circuit for gold and silver precipitation using zinc dust.