Masbate is considered to be an example of a low sulphidation epithermal deposit. The Masbate gold deposits that are currently being mined are centred on a 5 km to 7 km wide northwest- to southeast- oriented mineralised volcanic block which is bounded by two interpreted north-west trending fault zones. The mineralizing system being exploited in the open pit operations has a strike length of about 10 km, from Balete in the south to Pajo in the north. Mineralization has been tested to about 400 m depth.

The principal host rock to the gold mineralisation is a fractured andesitic–dacitic, tuffaceous agglomerate. Mineralisation occurs within quartz veins and associated altered and quartz-stockwork wall rocks and breccias. Gold is typically hosted in grey to white crystalline to chalcedonic quartz and is frequently associated with pyrite, marcasite, and minor amounts of chalcopyrite and sphalerite. HG veins are generally narrow (<1 m) but some may reach 20 m in width; sheeted stockwork zones can be up to 75 m in width.

The mine is a conventional open pit operation. Mineral Reserve mining activities are expected to end in 2025 while Mineral Reserve stockpile processing is expected to continue into early 2031. The mine plan assumes that all necessary permits will be granted in support of the mining operations, and that all the required surface rights can be obtained. The open pit mining sequence involves: GC drilling; drill and blast operations; and excavation and hauling of materials to the process plant ROM pad, temporary LG ore stockpiles or WRSF. Mining operations are conducted under an owner-operator model, and activities are scheduled on a 24-hour, seven days per week basis.

An average of 34 Mtpa of ore and waste will be mined from seven different open pits. Production in 2021 was mostly from the Main Vein and Montana pits. The primary ore sources in 2022 will also be from the Main Vein and Montana pits and low-grade stockpiles.

The mining and support equipment fleet was expanded in 2017 and is currently capable of annual total movement of 35 Mtpa, to meet the rate proposed in the LoM plan.

The process plant is a conventional CIL type facility consisting of primary crushing, two-stage SAG/ball mill grinding with pebble crushing, leaching, carbon adsorption; elution, electrowinning and smelting gold recovery stages; and a cyanide detoxification stage treating process plant tails before disposal in a TSF. Material is ground to 150 µm, and the leach residence time is 27 hours at the 8.0 Mtpa throughput rate.

Materials handling within the plant consists of 13 conveyor belts that are used to transport ore from the primary and supplementary crushing plants to the grinding and classification area. A 2.1 km long, 630 mm operative diameter high-density polyethylene tailings line runs from the process plant to the TSF (tailings storage facility).

The plant underwent an upgrade to 8.0 Mtpa in 2019. Currently, using the hardest ore types, the plant can treat 8.0 Mtpa consistently for the LoM. This expansion primarily consisted of adding a third ball mill and upgrading the existing crushing circuit. The mining rate at the Masbate Gold Project will remain constant, and the additional mill feed for the plant will come from LG (low-grade) ore from the mine and stockpiles.

The process plant is a conventional CIL type facility consisting of primary crushing, two-stage SAG/ball mill grinding with pebble crushing, leaching, carbon adsorption; elution, electrowinning and smelting gold recovery stages; and a cyanide detoxification stage treating process plant tails before disposal in a TSF. Material is ground to 150 µm, and the leach residence time is 27 hours at the 8.0 Mtpa throughput rate.

Materials handling within the plant consists of 13 conveyor belts that are used to transport ore from the primary and supplementary crushing plants to the grinding and classification area. A 2.1 km long, 630 mm operative diameter high-density polyethylene tailings line runs from the process plant to the TSF (tailings storage facility).

The plant underwent an upgrade to 8.0 Mtpa in 2019. Currently, using the hardest ore types, the plant can treat 8.0 Mtpa consistently for the LoM. This expansion primarily consisted of adding a third ball mill and upg ........