Precision in every hole

Every meter matters at the Masbate Gold Project. Located on a remote island 350 kilometers southeast of Manila, the mine has built a reputation for delivering gold safely, efficiently and sustainably.

Filminera Resources Corporation (FRC) is responsible for mining the mature epithermal deposit. Phil Gold Processing & Refining Corp. (PGPRC), a subsidiary of B2Gold, operates the processing plant.

The mill is projected to process around 8 million metric tons of ore in 2025, blending fresh and stockpiled ore in the flexible plant to produce between 190,000 and 210,000 gold ounces. The mine’s daily tonnage ranges between 90,000 and 105,000 tons, and with an average gold grade of just 0.9 grams per ton, every shovel bucket counts.

“You can imagine it’s a lot of dirt,” said Patrick Mkonyi, Assistant Vice President Technical Services of FRC. “Our success hinges on mine-to-mill discipline. We need clean drilling and blasting, minimal dilution, reliable equipment and process stability to keep tons and recovery where they need to be. Our focus is sustained productivity on variable ore sources while maintaining safety excellence and cost discipline.”

Efficient production is essential at the cost-conscious operation, and it starts with drilling precision and reliability.

“It’s foundational to our success,” Mkonyi said. “Good drilling underpins everything we measure daily. If we miss a bit on the drilling, then the downstream side will run dry, just like a river. It dictates blast outcome, which determines fragmentation, ‘digability’, crusher throughput and, ultimately, cost per ton. If drilling isn’t right, nothing else works.”

FRC took delivery of its first four Pantera™ DP1500i surface drill rigs from Sandvik in 2012. The rigs impressed in the mine’s demanding conditions, standing out for their balance of power, intelligence and serviceability.

“We matched bench geometry, hole size range and desired penetration rates against haul-road constraints and maintainability,” Mkonyi said. “Pantera™ DP1500i hit the sweet spot. The power-to-weight ratio, automation options and cost per meter all aligned perfectly for our benches and rock mass.”

Designed for a wide hole range of 89 to 152 millimeters, Pantera™ DP1500i is a versatile top-hammer rig suited to high-capacity production drilling. Intelligent control systems and automated rod handling streamline the drilling cycle.

“The operator-friendly cab layout, intuitive controls and fast setup meant quick learning curves and high early utilization,” Mkonyi said. “Over time, the rigs have continued to meet or exceed expectations for penetration, accuracy and availability. We track higher effective drilling hours per shift and steadier penetration within our target window, which supports more consistent blast outcomes and downstream efficiency.”

FRC measures the drills’ performance in meters per shift, hole deviation, utilization and cost per meter. Across all those key performance indicators (KPIs), the fleet of Pantera™ DP1500i rigs consistently deliver.

“We’ve seen high penetration rates, repeatable hole quality with minimal rework and steady availability that aligns with our production plan,” Mkonyi said. “They’re reliable, well-serviced and they carry a wide range of bit sizes. We couldn’t do small holes with big drills, but we can do big holes with small drills, which are Pantera™. That’s where Pantera™ beats the other guys, I guess. It does all size of holes for an average operation.”

Sandvik delivered FRC’s 15th and 16th Pantera™ DP1500i rigs in 2024, the final additions to the fleet. Given the current trending gold price, there is an increased likelihood of additional reserves.

“The rigs are performing really well,” said Nikko Vanell Dolino, FRC Chief Mining Engineer. “They are very reliable and they have aligned with our goals, especially with cost savings and production targets. We’ve tightened our patterns with confidence and improved collaring consistency and fragmentation. Pantera™ DP1500i delivers stable hole straightness and minimal deviation on longer benches. We get repeatable hole quality with predictable parts and consumables usage and strong local support.”

Sandvik’s local support team in the Philippines plays a key role in sustaining fleet performance. Through regular site visits, technical guidance and proactive parts logistics, Sandvik ensures the rigs stay productive.

“The technical services side of Sandvik is great,” Mkonyi said. “I think it’s the main thing when it comes to our relationship. When we have a problem that technicians on site cannot resolve, we will tap on Sandvik and they will get us assistance as soon as possible. Depth of local expertise is one of Sandvik’s greatest strengths. Their technicians are on the ground, helping with condition-based maintenance, operator coaching and parts management. That partnership gives us confidence to meet our targets every month.”

On the consumables side, FRC and Sandvik deepened their collaboration in 2024 through a trial of Sandvik’s new CT67 top hammer drilling tools. The system features a unique curved thread design that increases efficiency while reducing cost per meter and fuel consumption. The design reduces stress levels by distributing them over a larger area inside the tool, enabling the system to handle higher drilling power and maximizing the drill rig’s full potential.

In a two-month trial, two Pantera™ DP1500i rigs drilled nearly 37,000 meters with CT67 tools. The new tools delivered a 24 percent increase in drilling productivity compared to Sandvik’s GT60 tools, while reducing cost per meter by nine percent.

“The benefits were notable,” Mkonyi said. “We validated improvements in penetration-rate stability, bit and rod life, hole deviation and fuel-per-meter. Cost per meter improved enough that we’re now phasing CT67 tools into selected Pantera™ DP1500i rigs.”

Globally, Sandvik’s CT67 system has demonstrated 15 percent lower fuel use compared to conventional top hammer tooling.

Over time, FRC’s fleet of Pantera™ DP1500i rigs has grown steadily, a clear vote of confidence in the equipment and the partnership behind it.

“Uptime, hole quality and responsive local support are the reasons we’ve stayed with Sandvik,” Mkonyi said. “Their commitment to performance transparency and fast feedback loops matches our own culture.”

FRC continues to deliver steady output while investing in local livelihoods, reforestation and solar energy.

“We are responsible miners,” Mkonyi said. “We care about the environment, the community and the local economy. We do reforestation, mangrove restoration and progressive rehabilitation of mined-out areas and waste dumps. We also train local communities so that even after the mine, people can still make a living. Renewable energy, rehabilitation and local development are all part of how we define success.”

The mine’s reforestation programs have earned national recognition from the Philippines’ Department of Environment and Natural Resources, while its community training initiatives created more than 600 local jobs in 2024 alone.

“FRC has a hands-on, can-do culture,” Mkonyi said. “FRC and PGPRC employ more than 2,000 people and are the largest private employer in the province. We’re a true mining community. People take pride in the fact that the mine is the heartbeat of the island’s economy.”

Before the end of 2025, PGPRC will also commission an 8.2-MWac solar plant featuring more than 16,000 solar panels. The plant is expected to reduce heavy fuel oil consumption by as many as 3.4 million liters per year and cut CO2 emissions by up to 8,800 metric tons annually.

In November 2024, PGPRC celebrated six years without a lost-time injury: a remarkable 38.6 million hours worked safely.

“Safety is non-negotiable,” Mkonyi said. “We’ve only had one LTI in roughly the last decade. Our visible leadership, critical risk control and contractor integration programs make sure safety stays front of mind every day.”

As FRC moves into the final stretch of open-pit operations of its current reserves, the mine’s focus on technology and partnership has become even more important. Mkonyi and his colleagues credit its long period of safe, disciplined performance to strong operational foundations and to suppliers who share that commitment.

From the first four Pantera™ DP1500i rigs in 2012 to the latest deliveries in 2024, equipment performance and dependability and local support have remained a constant.

“It has been a great partnership with Sandvik,” Dolino said.