Makilala Mining Co., the local unit of Australia’s Celsius Resources Ltd., plans to begin construction on its flagship copper-gold project in Kalinga by the second quarter, bolstered by its financing partnership with the Philippines’ sovereign wealth fund.

During the Philippine Mining Club Luncheon last week, MMCI Country Operations Director Peter Hume said the company is now gearing up to begin construction on the Maalinao-Caigutan-Biyog (MCB) Copper-Gold Project, pending the necessary funding.

At present, Hume said the company is in talks with several parties interested in investing in the project.

“We're looking to secure funding within the first [quarter] to start in the second quarter of this year,” he said, noting that early works on the construction could start as early as next month.

Under MMCI’s current pipeline, securing full funding for the MCB project will underpin its construction readiness.

This would enable the company to issue contract packages for both early works and long-lead items. Among the first to be constructed are the connecting bridge, pads, and internal access road.

This will then be followed by the issuance of tender packages for the mining contractor, non-process infrastructure, and the process plant.

In terms of the process plant—the facility that converts raw ore into a high-grade product—Hume said MMCI is currently evaluating its construction model.

“We are exploring actively now in the market for the final methodology and how we deliver the process plant and early works surrounding the process plant,” he said.

Based on the project’s updated feasibility study, construction of the process plant will begin in the first quarter of next year, with commissioning set for the second quarter of 2028.

The MCB project’s first concentrate is expected by the third quarter of the same year, which would support the ramp-up to full operations.

The study determined that during the first 10 years of the project, MMCI will require capital expenditure of $276 million, including $26.5 million in contingency and $15.1 million allocated for growth.

The mineral resource of the 2,500-hectare site is estimated at around 343 million tons, containing 1.6 million tons of copper and 1.4 million ounces of gold.

From this, a maiden ore reserve of 130.2 million tons has been defined under the project’s 35-year mine plan, with 90 million tons scheduled for extraction, while the remainder is inaccessible as it lies beneath nearby communities.

MMCI is targeting an annual production of 2.28 million tons during the initial three-year operating period, before increasing output to 2.64 million tons per year for most of the mine life.

The feasibility study, completed last month, was funded by government-run Maharlika Investment Corp. (MIC) as part of its $76.4-million loan facility for the MCB project.

MIC, the country’s sovereign wealth fund manager, signed a binding term sheet agreement with MMCI last year to finance the study, along with the front-end engineering design (FEED) of the site.

Under the agreement, both parties are expected to negotiate the equity sale of MMCI shares to MIC.