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Philex Mining Corp. is “open to the acquisition of significant
participation in other mining companies…as soon as possible”
this year to extend its life as a mining company after 2014,
chairman and chief executive, Walter W. Brown, told its
shareholders.
The acquisition budget is about P156 million or
equivalent to about a quarter of its exploration budget of P625
million, Brown told reporters on the sidelines of the firm’s
stockholders meeting.
The mining firm it is targeting may be local or
foreign depending on “whichever becomes [available] first,” the
executive added.
Philex is also setting up exploration activities
in Madagascar without any foreign partner and continues to evaluate
exploration activities in Saudi Arabia, Indonesia, Myanmar,
Australia, Solomon Islands, Hungary, Canada and Laos.
Its main revenue driver, the 400-hectare Padcal
mine in Benguet, has a mine life of 6 years until 2014. Brown said
the company hopes to open two mines in some of its prospects before
it closes down the copper mine.
Meanwhile, the company assured that its coal
project in Diplahan, Sibugay, Zamboanga, under subsidiary Brixton
Energy and Mining Corp. would start operating by year-end. J.
Ernesto C. Villaluna, Philex president and chief operating officer,
said that the mine will be able to produce 150,000 tons of
semi-anthracite coals annually and is capable of supplying local
demand.
Domestic coal price runs between P3,500 and
P4,000 per ton with major canning and cement companies—which are
now shifting to coal for its energy needs—as main buyers.
The company is also working out its differences
with Anglo-American (Philippines) B.V., a wholly owned subsidiary of
Anglo American Plc., until the end of this year. The two tied up for
the exploration of Philex’s 25,184-hectare Boyongan copper mine in
Surigao for an estimated cost of P1 billion.
However, the two firms had a falling out after
Anglo-American declared that Boyongan is not commercially viable.
Brown said they already hired a third party “competent person”
to assess the mine and to avoid any conflict of interest to settle
the two firms’ differences. If Philex and Anglo-American would not
be able to iron out the kinks amicably, then they would have to go
to court, Brown said.
-- Likha C. Cuevas-Miel
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