Omico beefs up capital of unit to P100 million

MANILA, Philippines - Publicly-listed mining and property firm Omico Corp. is beefing up the authorized capital stock of its subsidiary, Omico-Ivanhoe Mining Inc., from P10 million to P100 million to fund the development of a gold mine in Itogon town in the northern mountainous province of Benguet.

At the same time, Omico’s board approved the corporate name change of its unit to either Cordillera Mining Inc., Omico Mining Inc. or Ampucao Mining Inc.

The move followed the withdrawal by Canadian mining firm Ivanhoe Mines Ltd. from the joint venture agreed upon with Omico in April 2007. Under the aborted deal, Ivanhoe was supposed to invest initially up to $5.45 million in the exploration.

Omico officials said the company will initially spend more than P20 million for the initial development and exploration of the mine site, which is owned by Macawiwili Gold Mining & Development Corp. (MCGMDC).

Omico entered into an agreement with MGMDC to operate the latter’s 119 mining claims on 837 hectares in Itogon in September 1968. In January 1996, Omico and MGMDC extended their mining agreement for another 25 years or until 2021.

The company secured in April this year a mineral production sharing agreement (MPSA) from the Department of Environment and Natural Resources, allowing it to jumpstart the exploration and development of the mine site in Itogon.

Omico is licensed to operate, prospect, mine and deal with all kinds of ores, metals and minerals. It is also engaged in property investment and development of low-cost subdivision housing units.

Also approved by the Omico board was the reallocation of P50 million for acquisition of mining claims and mining exploration activities, as well as P25 million for its Sta. Rosa Homes project. Another P14 million would be used to support working capital requirements.

Upon its completion in 2010, Sta. Rosa Homes will have a total of 1,071 housing units. Aside from this, Omico has a joint venture with Robinsons Homes Inc. for the development of the mining firm’s three parcels of land located in Tagaytay City into a high-density two-phase residential subdivision, consisting of five five-storey residential condominium buildings.

Omico also has an agreement with Sta. Lucia Realty and Development Inc., Asian Pacific Estates Development Corp. (APEDC) and Asian Empire Corp. (AEC), whereby Sta. Lucia will develop into residential and commercial subdivisions properties located in Urdaneta, Pangasinan.