Australian-listed Celsius Resources Ltd. has appointed new leadership for its Philippine subsidiary, Tambuli Mining Company Inc., as the company moves forward with plans to develop the Sagay Copper Project in Negros Occidental.
In a disclosure dated June 9, Celsius said Tambuli had appointed Dr. Attilenore "Nene" Manero as interim chair and president and intends to appoint mining executive Peter Hume as technical adviser once regulatory and administrative requirements are completed.
The appointments follow the recent termination of Manero as chief sustainability director of MMCI and Hume as technical director of MMCI by Julito "Sarge" Sarmiento in his capacity as president director of MMCI, the company said.
Celsius said the appointments would allow it to retain critical in-country expertise and experience while supporting the long-term development of the Sagay Copper Project, located in the northeastern part of Negros Island in Negros Occidental. The company noted that its primary focus remains the development of its MCB Copper-Gold Project.
According to Celsius, the Sagay project covers approximately 1,780 hectares and hosts a large-scale copper-gold porphyry deposit as well as a shallow supergene copper deposit that is expected to be the first target for development. Exploration at the project began in 2008, with 47 drill holes totaling 28,252 meters completed between 2012 and 2023.
The company's latest mineral resource estimate reported a combined measured, indicated and inferred resource of 312 million metric tons grading 0.39 percent copper and 0.11 grams of gold per ton, containing an estimated 1.225 million tons of copper and 1.075 million ounces of gold.
Celsius said its proposed development strategy involves a two-phase approach. The first phase would focus on the shallow supergene copper deposit through a medium-scale surface mining operation covering about 20 hectares. Ore would be processed using gravity separation, avoiding chemical reagents and flotation agents, while tailings would be dry-stacked instead of stored in a tailings dam.
The second phase would assess the long-term potential development of the deeper copper-gold porphyry deposit through an underground block-cave mining operation and conventional milling and flotation processing, subject to further technical studies and community support.
The company said substantial progress had been made on permitting. A Declaration of Mining Project Feasibility application, including a mining feasibility study, environmental impact statement and related plans, was submitted to the Mines and Geosciences Bureau in December 2023 and remains under review. An updated environmental impact assessment was submitted in September 2025.
Celsius said an Environmental Compliance Certificate is expected following approval of the mining project feasibility declaration and environmental assessment. The company would then pursue either a Mineral Production Sharing Agreement or a Financial or Technical Assistance Agreement.
Manero, a former non-executive director of Celsius, has experience in government and regulatory affairs, permitting, compliance and environmental and social programs. Her appointment as interim chair, president and director of Tambuli runs until Dec. 31, 2026, subject to renewal by mutual agreement.
Hume, who currently serves as interim chair of Celsius, has more than 45 years of international mining experience and will continue serving on the Celsius board while supporting the technical advancement of the Sagay project and the company's other Philippine mining interests.
