Atlas Consolidated Mining and Development Corp. (ACMDC) and Canada’s TVI Resource Development Phils. Inc. have until the end of the month to decide on a proposed joint venture involving the Canatuan copper zinc sulphide project in Zamboanga del Norte.
In a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange, ACMDC said it has moved the date in which the company will decide whether to pursue the omnibus agreement entered into on Dec. 26, 2007.
“The extension of the option period will allow Atlas to conduct a more thorough due diligence review and evaluation of all aspects of the project,” ACMDC said.
ACMDC said the project is at an advanced stage of development with much of the required plant, equipment and infrastructure already in place.
“The mineral resources classified to the Canadian equivalent of JORC standards contained three metric tons at 1.35 percent copper,1.05 percent zinc, 0.75 gpt gold and 36.09 gpt silver. Potential resource exist to the north of the Canatuan MPSA to extend the estimated mine life beyond six years,” ACMDC said.
ACMDC has converted its P42-million advance into equity in the Canatuan project.
The company has estimated that initial production of copper concentrates can begin as early as the second half of 2008.
The Canatuan mine is TVI’s most advanced project which has been put into operation as the first foreign-financed mine in the Philippines in recent years.
TVI has made applications for exploration rights covering 1,257 kilometers of properties situated in a new mineral district located on the Zamboanga Peninsula, approximately 75 kilometers north-east of TVI’s Canatuan mine.
Just last week, ACMDC and investment fund Crescent Asian Special Opportunities Portfolio infused an additional $10 million into Carmen Copper Corp. which operates the Toledo copper mine in Cebu.
Carmen Copper was one of the largest copper producers in Asia until the suspension of its operations in 1994 after its mine site was hit by a typhoon.
The Toledo mine has deposits of 874 million metric tons with an average grade of 0.41 percent copper.
It is seen to produce copper concentrates by the second quarter of 2008.