Atlas unit signs deferred payment plan with Marubeni for equipment purchase

Atlas Consolidated Mining & Development Corp.’s wholly-owned subsidiary Carmen Copper Corp. has signed a deferred payment sales agreement with Japan’s Marubeni Corp. of Japan for the purchase and delivery of $9 million worth of mining equipment.

Carmen Copper is the operator of the Toledo copper mines in Cebu.

ACMDC said initial shipment of the equipment commences in November this year, with the terms reasuring a 40-percent downpayment of which $1 million has been paid to date. The remaining 60 percent will be payable on a deferred basis with interest accruing at the rate of three percent per month.

A feasibility study on the rehabilitation and re-opening of the Toledo mine was previously completed and is estimated to produce over 100 million pounds of copper and 45,000 ounces of gold primarily from underground block-caving operations.

ACMDC is finalizing various financial arrangements for the $150-million proposed reopening of the Toledo copper mines, formerly the biggest copper mine in Asia. Plans are also underway for the resumption of operations with rehabilitation works scheduled to start within this year.

Carmen Copper has also filed its application for listing with the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE) and expects approval within the second half of this year.

The company hopes to develop its other assets, including its nickel, exploration and water resources, all of which have been reorganized into subsidiaries of Atlas, forming part of a major restructuring of the company’s assets and activities.

ACMDC is listed on the Philippine Stock Exchange and was until 1994, listed on the American Stock Exchange (AMEX). The company is engaged in mineral and metallic mining and exploration and primarily produces copper concentrates with gold, silver, pyrites and magnetite as major by-products.