The Mines and Geosciences Bureau (MGB) of the Philippines has advised St Augustine Gold and Copper Limited that renewal of the Mineral Production Sharing Agreement (MPSA) for the King-king Copper-Gold Project in Mindanao has been approved.

The renewal is for 25 years and was awarded to St Augustine’s joint venture partner, Nationwide Development Corporation (NADECOR).

The MPSA is an agreement under which the Philippine Government grants an exclusive right to conduct mining activities within the contract area and the government receives a share of the gross revenues of the mine operations.

TSX-listed St Augustine, through NADECOR, will provide the necessary financing, technology, management and personnel for King-King’s development, construction and operation.

With the earlier approval of the Declaration of Mining Project Feasibility (DMPF), NADECOR and St Augustine will work cooperatively to advance the project to construction followed by operation of the mine. Development of King-king is expected to have positive impacts for all project stakeholders and the community at large, and has been designed to minimise any environmental impact.

St Augustine’s president and CEO Paolo A Villar said, “The successful renewal of the MPSA represents another milestone in our ongoing efforts to advance and de-risk the King-king project. With all major mine permits approved, the MPSA renewal now paves the way for the next phase of King-king’s development.”

The King-king project is in Compostela Valley and is expected to recover 3.16 billion pounds of copper and 5.43 million ounces of gold over its 25 year mine and process life.

According to the preliminary feasibility study that was released on September 18, 2013, the project has a pre-tax NPV of $2.0 billion with an IRR of 24.8%. The estimated mineral reserves amount to 617.9 million tonnes at 0.30% total copper and 0.395 g/t gold.

It is one of the largest undeveloped copper-gold deposits in the world, and is listed as a top three-priority mining project by the Philippine government.