He replaces Libby Ricafort, who has retired after some 19 years of service



Philex Mining Corp. today announced the appointment of its new senior vice-president and Padcal resident manager, following the retirement of Libby Ricafort after serving the company for almost 19 years. 


Manuel Agcaoili, a metallurgical engineer who assumed his new position on Jan. 15, was the immediate-past director and president of MBMI Resources Phils., Inc., a Canadian-based mining company focusing on the exploration and development of nickel mineral properties in the Philippines. 


Also a metallurgist, Mr. Ricafort has expressed gratitude to Philex Mining for its faith in him. "I really can't think of words to describe my stint with the company," he said. "I am very grateful, of course, to Philex as an institution, for giving me the opportunity to serve the company and believing in my capacity to manage the operations at Padcal." 


Danny Yu, treasurer, CFO and SVP for Finance at Philex Mining, said in today's filing to the Philippine Stock Exchange, Inc. that Mr. Agcaoili had also been director and president of Narra Nickel Mining and Development Corp., Tesoro Mining and Development Corp., and McArthur Mining, Inc. 


Mr. Agcaoili, who holds an MBA from the Ateneo de Manila University and finished his undergrad studies at the University of the Philippines, in 1980, was director and president of Rapu-Rapu Processing, Inc., as well as director of Lafayette Philippines, Inc. from 2006 to 2008. He was previously connected with the Philippine Associated Smelting and Refining Corp. 


When he became VP for Operations at Philex Mining and resident manager of Padcal on Jan. 1, 2012, Mr. Ricafort had already served the company for 17 years, first as manager of the Mill Division at Philex Gold Philippines, Inc. (PGPI), in Sipalay City, Negros Occidental, from March 1995 to June 1999, and then in the same capacity at Padcal, in Tuba, Benguet. (He was division manager for Metallurgy at the Atlas Consolidated Mining & Development Corp. between 1982 and 1995, and its metallurgist from May 1974 to Dec. 1981.)


Mr. Ricafort was responsible for Philex Mining's growth and profitability through the efficient and cost-effective operations in Padcal, where the company has its gold-and-copper production, and in PGPI, where he headed the CIL (carbon in leach) plant expansion project in 1997.  


"I am extending my heartfelt gratitude to the Philex-Padcal team for their untiring support during my stint with them for the past 14 years," said Mr. Ricafort, who holds a BS in Metallurgical Engineering from the Mapua Institute of Technology. 

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