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MACROASIA Corp. applied for tax incentives and other perks from the
Board of Investments (BOI) for its nickel exploration project in
Palawan.
The parent company of Philippine Airlines (PAL)
is investing P800 million for its exploration project in Barangay
Ipilan, Brooke’s Point, Palawan. The project is expected to start
operating in January next year.
MacroAsia is also exploring in a 1,114-hectare
mining tenement in biodiversity-rich Brooke’s Point, and signed on
London-listed Toledo Mining Corp. last year to help develop the
nickel project. Both firms are conducting feasibility studies on
their adjacent nickel project sites. MacroAsia holds exclusive
rights to explore and develop nickel, chromite, iron and other
mineral deposits in the area.
The two firms also plan to build a nickel
smelting and refinery plant within MacroAsia’s property after
exploration in the area yields positive results. The plant would
allow the company to process its minerals and sell these at a higher
value.
Before operation of the smelting and refinery
plant, MacroAsia may have to directly ship its nickel ore to
Australia, China and Japan when it starts production by the end of
this year.
Plans for spinning off MacroAsia’s mining arm
are not yet concrete and remains one of the options for raising
funds through an initial public sale of its shares. The company has
earmarked P50 million in seed money for its mining venture, which
would come from internally generated funds.
-- Chino S. Leyco
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