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A UNIT of Atlas Consolidated Mining and Development Corp. has signed
a supply deal with state-owned National Power Corp. (Napocor) for
the electricity needs of its Toledo Copper Mine in Cebu.
Under an agreement signed recently, Napocor will
supply electricity to Carmen Copper Corp.’s mine in Don Andres
Soriano, Toledo City over a period of three years starting this
year.
Napocor will supply 40 megawatts comprising its
excess power generation that will be made available from the Leyte
Geothermal Power Plants of Philippine National Oil Co.-Energy
Development Corp. The supply deal will materialize after state-owned
National Transmission Corp. (TransCo) raises the capacity of its
Leyte-Cebu submarine cables, which are presently limited to 360
megawatts.
The supply of power to Carmen Copper is expected
to commence shortly after completion of standard safety tests being
carried out by TransCo.
Alfredo C. Ramos, Carmen Copper chairman, said
the power supply deal with Napocor “fast-tracks the resumption of
copper concentrate production in our Toledo mining operation, soon
to once again become the nation’s largest copper mine.”
At present, the rehabilitation of the mine is 60
percent complete. The mine will have an ore throughput of 42,000
metric tons per day and will ship its first batch of copper
concentrate output during the third quarter this year.
Average annual production of copper from the
mine, which was once the biggest of its kind in Asia for 50 years,
is estimated at 47,000 tons along with gold, silver, iron ore
magnetite and pyrite by-products.
-- Euan Paulo C. Añonuevo
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