Benguet Corp, Nadeco to develop Kingking project

Benguet Corp. has tapped Citigroup Global Markets as financial adviser in raising funds for the development of its Kingking copper-gold mine in Compostela Valley.

Benguet has teamed up with Nationwide Development Corp. (Nadeco) to develop the Kingking project, located in the eastern part of Mindanao, approximately 20 kilometers northeast of Pantukan, Compostela Valley.

In a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange, Benguet said Citigroup will be tasked to explore alternative approaches to the raising of additional equity and other forms of capital for the development of the Kingking project.

The property has an approved mineral production sharing agreement (MPSA) with the government and has the most advanced level of geological information. It has been identified as one of the top 10 priority mining projects of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources, Benguet said.

Since the Supreme Court upheld in December last year the constitutionality of the Mining Act of 1995, there has been no letup to the company’s entertaining potential investors.

The Kingking project requires an estimated $500 million to $850 million to begin mineral extraction.

Based on records of the Chamber of Mines of the Philippines, the Kingking project has a total mineral deposit of 353 million metric tons of gold, copper and silver with a gross value of $3.9 billion. It has an estimated daily production rate of 70,000 MT, which could last for around 13 years.

The government and the private sector expect $6 billion in new investments to be poured into mining projects in the country over the next six to 10 years.