MacroAsia to start ‘high profile’ mine exploration in Palawan

MacroAsia Corp., an aviation support company owned by tobacco and beer magnate Lucio Tan, is set to start "high-profile" exploration on a mine in Palawan.

At the sidelines of the company’s stockholders’ meeting Friday, MacroAsia president and chief executive officer Joseph Chua said the high profile exploration will commence next week or in the next two weeks.

MacroAsia obtained a mineral production sharing agreement (MPSA) from the Mines and Geosciences Bureau covering 1,114 hectares of land in Brooke’s Point, Palawan.

Marivic Moya, MacroAsia vice president for legal, human resource & external relations, said the company needs to do a high-profile exploration to determine the value of the property. The high-profile exploration could take three to six months, she said.

"We just can’t commit without knowing what we really have. With the exploration, we will be able to know the exact volume and quality of the ore," Moya said.

Chua said the company continues to be in talks with several groups of foreign investors from Canada, China, Japan, Korea and Australia for possible joint exploration of the area.

He said the company may set up a subsidiary to serve as corporate vehicle for its mining venture.

Chua said the company is only willing to take in just one or two partners for the project.

The MPSA gives MacroAsia the exclusive right to conduct mining operations within the contracted area.

Mining operations that are allowed include exploration, development and utilization for commercial purposes of nickel, chromite, iron and other associated mineral deposits that may be found in the area.

The MPSA will be in effect for 25 years and is renewable for a maximum 25 years under the same terms and conditions as the existing agreement.

MacroAsia inherited the mining claim over the property, from Cobertson Holdings Corp. – formerly Infanta Mineral & Industrial Corp. MacroAsia does not own the title to the land but can use it for mining purposes.

Apart from the mining business, MacroAsia operates four subsidiaries and two associate companies, which directly render services to airline customers of Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA), Mactan-Cebu International Airport (MCIA) and Davao International Airport.

MacroAsia is eyeing a 10-percent growth in net profit this year, mainly coming from its airline catering business as well as from the ground handling activities.

Last year, the company posted a net income of P124.4 million and revenues of P809.38 million.