Ipilan's inaugural shipment from its mine in the western Philippine province of Palawan was sold to Guangdong Century Tsingshan Nickel Industry.

The miner plans to invest $335 million to expand capacity at its Mt Weld mine.

Tampakan, considered the Philippines' biggest untapped copper-gold reserve, was stalled for over a decade but saw a glimpse of hope in May.

Spot gold prices globally have fallen about 9% this year and plunged to the lowest since 2020 last week.

The plan is to keep coal fired-power plants running for another decade and then completely shift away from fossil fuels over the following 20 years.

The two sides will begin talks Friday as part of an engagement channel agreed earlier this month in Washington.