Tan’s MacroAsia ventures deeper into mining

MacroAsia Corp., an aviation-related services company owned by taipan Lucio Tan, has sought an exploration permit with the Mines and Geosciences Bureau for gold and copper mining exploration in Mindanao.

In a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange, MacroAsia vice president and corporate information officer Amador Sendin said the company is targeting mine exploration in a 5,820 hectare area in Palimbang, Sultan Kudarat and a 6,156-hectare prospect in Glan, Sarangani Province.  The two areas are located within the rich gold and copper districts in Mindanao.

MacroAsia earlier signed a memorandum of understanding with London Stock Exchange-listed Toledo Mining on a proposed joint development of the Infanta nickel project and the adjoining Celestial nickel project in Brooke’s Point, Palawan.

Toledo and its affiliates hold majority interest in the Celestial nickel project, which they co-own with Celestial Nickel Mining Exploration.

The Infanta nickel deposit extends across the common boundary of the contiguous mineral production sharing agreement areas held by MacroAsia and Toledo. Both companies have been drilling and test-pitting their respective areas to define the extent of the nickel laterite mineralization.

A combined resource of over 120 million metric tons of mineralization over the two properties is more than sufficient to justify a processing plant suited to the dominantly limonitic ore type.

While the various ore types have not yet been tested in detail, initial indications suggest that the nickel in the limonite ore can be economically extracted using a hydrometallurgical process. MacroAsia has set aside P120 million for its exploration activities in its 1,113-hectare mineral site at Brooke’s Point, Palawan.

In the six months ending June this year, MacroAsia reported a 66 percent jump in its net earnings to P159 from only P95 million the previous year-period.