Stock News 2013: Philex agrees to pay in full P1.034B fine for mine spill

Philex Mining Corp. will pay in full the P1.034-billion fine imposed by the government over the mine spill at its Padcal mines a day ahead of the deadline.

The gold and copper producer has promised to comply with the Mines and Geosciences Bureau (MGB) penalty following the spill of 20 million metric tons of tailings from its Tailings Storage Facility 3 in Padcal in August last year, even if it claimed that there was no negligence on its part.

“We believe it was a result of the elements of nature—an event of force majeure. But even as we are not at fault, we share the concern of the government for the environment, thus we are paying the fee, as set by regulators, to cover the costs of remediation and rehabilitation activities,” said Michael Toledo, senior vice president for corporate affairs at Philex Mining.

Philex contested the fines twice at the Department of Environment and Natural Resources, arguing that the mine spill was a result of a historically unprecedented heavy rainfall. Its appeals were denied by the MGB, which insisted that Philex was negligent.

Nonetheless, Toledo said the company would continue cooperating with government regulators to ensure the safety and integrity of its TSF3 and the rehabilitation of the areas affected by the accidental discharge of water and sediment from the pond at Padcal mines in Itogon, Benguet.

Philex had to pay the full amount of the penalty on or before the Feb. 19 deadline as MGB director Leo Jasareno announced yesterday that the agency had rejected the request of the mining company last Feb. 13 to pay the fine on an installment basis.

The payment, according to Jasareno, would be remitted to the National Treasury and accrue to the Mine Wastes and Tailings Reserve Fund, which will be used to pay claims for compensation for the damage caused by the mine spill.

Apart from the P1-billion fine for violating the Philippine Mining Act of 1995, Philex is facing P92.8 million in fines for polluting two water bodies—Balog creek and Agno River—and violating the Clean Water Act or the Republic Act 9275.

http://business.inquirer.net/107843/philex-agrees-to-pay-in-full-p1-3-b-fine-for-mine-spill

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Stock News 2012: Philex posts record income

Photo of Manny (Photo credit: Wikipedia)Philex Mining Corp. said its net earnings surged to a record P5.77 billion last year, up 46 percent from P3.96 billion in 2010, on increased metal production and unprecedented global metal prices.

Core net income likewise hit an all-time high of P5.57 billion, 34 percent higher than a year ago. Operating revenues also reached a historic high of P16.13 billion or an increase of 20 percent as gold continued its 11-year bull run in the world market.

Revenues from gold operations climbed 29 percent to P9.29 billion with prices rising 26 percent to an average of $1,536 per ounce.

Revenues from copper production, on the other hand, amounted to P6.09 billion, six percent more than the P5.7 billion recorded a year earlier.

Copper price per pound also improved from $3.63 in 2010 to $3.70 in 2011.

Ore milled slightly went up to 9.49 million tons from 9.36 million tons. The company registered a seven-percent growth in volume of copper to 37.955 million pounds and a five percent rise in gold to 140,113 ounces.

“Philex Mining will continue to lead and will focus on exploring additional revenue streams to maximize the opportunities presented by the world’s growing requirements for gold and copper,” said Manuel V. Pangilinan, chairman of Philex.

Pangilinan declined to give an income guidance for the year but said he expects “global demand and supply for metals are expected to be fundamentally strong throughout 2012.”

For this year, the company has budgeted P2.4 billion for its capital expenditures this year, P1 billion of which will go to the exploration and development of the Silangan mine, which contains the combined Boyongan-Bayugo deposit located at the Surigao mineral district in Mindanao.

Pangilinan said the company continues to scout for new acquisitions given its strong balance sheet. “We’re looking at a broad range of opportunities to see continued growth,” he said.

When asked whether Philex is setting it sights on Apex Mining Corp., Pangilinan said all firms engaged in gold and copper operations are on the company’s radar.

“Our main focus shall continue to be on gold and copper. Anything that will come into operations before the Silangan mine, we are interested,” Pangilinan said.

Pangilinan said the company is also interested in acquiring a stake in Manila Mining Corp. if given a choice.

http://www.philstar.com/Article.aspx?articleId=782500&publicationSubCategoryId=66

Stock News 2011: SMC wants 51% of Indophil

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Diversifying giant San Miguel Corporation is holding its ground and will not be making any more investment in Indophil Resources NL unless the Philippine conglomerate is allowed to acquire 51 percent controlling stake in the mining company.

In an interview, SMC president Ramon S. Ang said there are many unresolved issues regarding SMC’s planned investment in Indophil Resources and these will have to be resolved first before they buy any more Indophil shares.

Ang said in a text message earlier that among these issues is SMC’s requirement that it gets a controlling stake in Indophil.

Because of these unresolved issues, Ang said they are not buying any more Indophil shares even if it means the dilution of SMC’s 10.1 percent stake in Indophil which it had acquired for Australian$41.29 million.

SMC’s main interest in Indophil is the latter’s 37.5-percent stake in Sagittarius Mines, Inc. (SMI), which has the rights to the Tampakan gold and copper mine in South Cotabato.

http://mb.com.ph/articles/322380/smc-wants-51-indophil

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Stock News 2010: Russian miner buys stake in Mindoro project

Image by The Library of Congress via Flickr

RUSSIAN STEELMAKER OAO Severstal has acquired a 21.7-percent stake in Norwegian miner Intex Resources ASA, a company whose main project is a nickel mine in Mindoro.

The deal, valued at $12.5 million and made through Severstal’s unit Lybica Holding BV, is part of the Russian company’s “diversification strategy into new commodities,” said Boris Granovsky, head of Severstal’s Strategy and Business Development, in a statement posted on the company’s website.

Severstal and Intex said in separate statements that the Russian miner also intended to make a voluntary offer to acquire the remaining Intex shares it did not own.

However, Intex said its board observed that Severstal’s standing offer did not match the value of the Norwegian miner’s mineral assets.

Based on 91.7 million Intex shares outstanding, the company said the proposal valued its equity at approximately $58.3 million.

Intex CEO Erlend Grimstead said earlier that the deposit has a total resource of 2.6 million tons of contained nickel, which lends itself well to processing and is very cost-efficient. Annual production at Mindoro is expected to start in three to four years and is estimated that it will be at 63,000 tons a year.

http://business.inquirer.net/money/topstories/view/20100922-293766/Russian-miner-buys-stake-in-Mindoro-project

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Stock News 2010: US Firm Eyes Big Investment in Mining

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Nexsun Corp., a Los Angeles-based green energy project management firm, which is diversifying into mineral exploration and development worldwide, said it is encouraged by the determination of the new Philippine government to enhance the investment climate in the country.

Nexsun recently invested in four local mining companies, namely Peniel Resources Mining, J&M Resources Mining, Bogo Resources Mining and T&T Resources and Mining. Nexsun recently appointed James Kim as president of these four mining companies.

"We intend to invest substantial capital in Philippine mining, as a showcase of our trust and confidence in the new administration of President Benigno Aquino III," said James Kim.

Kim said the company is looking at various mining potentials in the country such as iron ore, titanium and gold and are now in the exploratory stage.

http://www.mb.com.ph/articles/277066/us-firm-eyes-big-investment-mining

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Stock News 2010: PNOC-EC starts fund raising for $100-million coal mine-mouth project

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MANILA, Philippines - Publicly-listed PNOC-Exploration Corp. will start raising funds for its $100-million coal mine-mouth project within the year, a company official said.

“Yes, most likely we will borrow money to fund the project,” Rolly Oliquino Jr., PNOC-EC project officer, said in a press briefing yesterday.

He said the company is also in exploratory talks with three groups which have expressed keen interest in the project. He, however, declined to identify the investor groups.

He said they would likely take in a partner for the power plant project but may opt to do the mining component on its own.

The Department of Energy awarded Coal Operating Contract (COC) 122- Isabela coal mine and power plant project to PNOC-EC in December 1997.

Oliquino said if the project pushes through, this will be the first mine-mouth project in the Philippines. PNOC-EC is also the first to develop an onshore natural gas project in Isabela province.

The PNOC-EC project will involve a progressive mining rehabilitation method (PMRM) and a construction of an initial 50-megawatt circulating fluidized bed (CFB) coal-fired power plant in a 2,000-hectare land in Isabela.

COC 122 involved nine coal blocks with total land area of 9,000 hectares, straddling portion of the city of Cauayan and the municipalities of Naguilian and Benito Soliven, but only 2,000 hectares will be developed for the project.

Robert Francisco, another PNOC-EC project officer, explained that the PMRM is the first of its kind in the Philippines which will involve staged mining of relatively smaller areas followed immediately by rehabilitation as opposed to conventional open pit mining that involves large-scale mining activities and rehabilitation works only at the end of the mine life.

Donnabelle L. Gatdula

September 9, 2010

http://www.philstar.com/Article.aspx?articleId=610235&publicationSubCategoryId=66

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Stock News 2010: San Miguel Stock Surges on Dividend, Fund Raising

Image via WikipediaJuly 28 - Shares in San Miguel surged 10 percent on Wednesday after the Philippine conglomerate said it could raise around $1.6 billion by selling shares and would pay a special dividend.
On Tuesday, San Miguel said its board had approved an offer of approximately 1 billion shares, from unissued capital stock and treasury shares, with a floor price of 75 pesos, to fund acquisitions and investments.
The company also announced a dividend of 0.35 pesos and a special dividend of 5 pesos per share, with a record date of Aug. 10.
"I think the main driver is more of the high yield that the dividend would generate based on yesterday's closing price. The yield is above 7 percent, so it was basically the attractive yield," said Jose Vistan of AB Capital Securities.
The company's B shares, which are open to all investors, closed up 9.5 percent at 75 pesos, having matched their 2010 high of 76 pesos during trade. Volume topped 140,000 shares, more than 10 times the average volume over the past 30 days.
Its A shares, restricted to locals, ended up 10 percent at 74.8 pesos, having hit a 3-year high of 76 pesos during trade. More than 390,000 shares were traded, about 7 times their recent daily average.
"It is more on the cash dividend that they will be giving come August. There are some interest on the investor side, given that the yield will be around 7.9 percent," said Ron Rodrigo of DBP-Daiwa Capital Markets Philippines.
SHARE SALE
The 120-year-old conglomerate, which makes 9 out of every 10 beers sold in the Philippines, is aggressively diversifying away from its traditional food and drinks businesses into high growth areas like power, mining, oil refinery, telecommunications and infrastructure.
Apart from the share sale, the company is also in the process of selling a minority stake in its San Miguel Pure Foods Co Inc unit..
RLPC reported on Tuesday bankers had launched an $880 million loan for San Miguel.
The company is in talks to buy stakes in railways, toll roads, airport projects and coal mines.
San Miguel is now one of the country's biggest power players, after it secured state contracts to operate and manage the output of four power plants on the main island of Luzon with a combined capacity of more than 3,000 megawatts.
Its power portfolio accounts for 28 percent of the power grid on Luzon and 21 percent of the national grid.
A spokeswoman for San Miguel said the company had 4.5 billion authorised shares, of which 3.275 billion were on issue.
The spokeswoman said San Miguel held 65.5 million treasury shares. That would mean most of the approximately 1 billion shares to be sold would come from unissued stock, diluting the value of current holdings.
The company has a small free float -- Reuters data shows it at around 11-12 percent -- with most stock held by a group called Top Frontier, related entities and San Miguel management. San Miguel in turn owns a stake in Top Frontier.
"On the dilution, it will happen within the year but no finality yet, so that is why investors are more focused on the cash dividend that company will give come August," said DBP-Daiwa's Rodrigo.
Tuesday's brief statement on the share sale did not mention a timing or any details of the sale process, such as whether it would include a rights issue for existing shareholders.
Earlier this year, San Miguel got shareholder approval to issue new shares "without attendent preemptive rights", and to create a common stock instead of having A and B shares.
http://www.flex-news-food.com/console/PageViewer.aspx?page=31342

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