Manila Standard Today reported that MacroAsia Corporation will establish a USD 1 billion nickel processing plant in Brooke's Point in Palawan, with funding from Jinchuan Group Limited of China.
Mr Ramon Santos VP for mining operations at MacroAsia said that "This is the gist of the joint venture agreement we signed with Jinchuan of China. The agreement clearly stated that the amount will be spent for the construction of a processing plant and the continuation of study on nickel laterite within the tenement of MacroAsia."
He said that the nickel project was waiting for the approval of the National Commission on Indigenous Peoples. He added that "All permits have been secured including the much coveted environment compliance certificate. There's no reason why the NCIP will not grant us the permit."
The company claimed the indigenous peoples of Brooke’s Point had endorsed the project to the Bureau of Mines on May 5th 2011.
Mr Santos said that his company was hoping for release of the permit by September or October so we can start with the process of opening up the mine. Ground works, including the establishment of mining infrastructures, may take six to nine months.
Mr Santos said that should the Indigenous People's Commission release the permit within the year, MacroAsia could start directly shipping nickel ore to China by 2012 if it received a permit within the year. He added that "If we found new resource, then we can extend the life of the mine."
The company is also scouting for copper and gold rich areas in the Infanta nickel ore body at 88 million tonnes of nickel ore with a grade of 0.5% to 2%.
MacroAsia has proposed to Jinchuan to consider value added investment in Palawan instead of direct ore shipments. The two companies agreed to study the proposal.
MacroAsia said Jinchuan in 2007 started conducting due diligence studies on the company's 1,114 hectare nickel mine site in Brooke’s Point. The due diligence was an offshoot of talks between Mr Tan and Jinchuan chairman Mr Li Yong Jun as part of then President Ms Gloria Macapagal Arroyo's state visit to China in November 2006.
MacroAsia inherited its mining rights from Cobertson Holdings Corporation, formerly Infanta Mineral and Industrial Corporation.
(Sourced from www.manilastandardtoday.com)
