By Heather Caitlin P. Mañago, Researcher
PHILEX MINING CORP. (Philex) shares fell last week after a structural failure at its Padcal Mine’s mill plant disrupted operations and weighed on investor sentiment, despite strong global gold prices.
The mining company was the 19th most actively traded stock throughout the week, with 54.44 million shares valued at P590.47 million changing hands from Jan. 19 to 23 on the local bourse.
Philex shares closed at P11.16 apiece, down 2.8% from the previous Friday’s P11.48 close, underperforming the mining and oil sector’s 5.2% gain and the Philippine Stock Exchange index’s (PSEi) 2% decline.
On a year-to-date basis, nonetheless, the stock is up 12.7% from P9.90 at the top of 2025, trailing the sector’s 21% rise but outperforming the PSEi’s 4.6% increase.
“The decline in share price stemmed primarily from operational disruptions on the Padcal Mine, following a structural failure within the mill plant’s support system,” Peter Louise D. Garnace, equity research analyst at Unicapital Securities, Inc., said in an e-mail.
Jash Matthew M. Baylon, equity analyst at The First Resources Management and Securities, said the event prompted a sell-off as investors anticipated lower gold output and weaker short-term profitability.
Philex said on Monday last week that operations at its Padcal Mine in Benguet were disrupted after a structural support failure occurred in a piece of the mill plant, affecting day by day production.
The failure affected the vibrating screens of the tertiary crushers and caused misalignment within the connecting conveyors, resulting in the shutdown of the complete STC system that feeds the grinding section.
The corporate said it implemented another milling process at reduced capability using unaffected facilities, while engineering assessments and repair works were ongoing to revive normal operations.
Despite elevated gold prices, Philex shares declined as investors priced in the danger of reduced production and earnings from the Padcal Mine in the primary quarter, a priority that would extend through the remainder of the yr, Mr. Garnace said.
“Nonetheless, [the stock] recovered within the latter a part of the week, fueled by stronger move of gold prices in the worldwide market brought by geopolitical tensions,” Mr. Baylon added.
Spot gold climbed to a record high of $4,917.65 per ounce on Thursday.
For the approaching week, Mr. Garnace advised investors to “closely track the yellow metal’s price motion, currently hovering near the $5,000 per ounce level, amidst heightened geopolitical risks and the upcoming US rate of interest decision,” noting that Philex “stays a gold proxy.”
He identified immediate support and resistance levels at P10.70 and P11.70, respectively.
Mr. Baylon similarly said investors should monitor geopolitical developments, as gold price movements are largely driven by external aspects that would affect Philex’s margins.
He added that updates on conditions on the Padcal site remain critical, as these directly influence the corporate’s day by day operations and production levels.
He pegged support at P10 to P10.20 and resistance at P11.80 to P12.
Philex is certainly one of three Philippine units of Hong Kong-based First Pacific Co. Ltd., alongside Metro Pacific Investments Corp. and PLDT Inc.
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