BOI approves Carmen Copper production project in Cebu

Carmen Copper Corp., a unit of  Atlas Consolidated Mining and Development Corp., has gotten approval from the Board of Investments for it copper production project in Biga, Toledo City, and Cebu.

The BOI is initially granting a non-pioneer status to the Carmen Copper project.

However, the BOI still has to consult with the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) to determine if Carmen Copper’s project should be given a pioneer or non-pioneer status.

Carmen Copper is seeking a pioneer status.

The DOST will determine if the mining process to be used by Carmen Copper is an entirely new process or has been used before and is being reemployed.

The pioneer or non-pioneer  status would determine the incentives to be granted to Carmen Copper.

The BOI approval was granted to Carmen Copper even as the BOI expressed doubts about the feasibility of the project due to the difficulty of "dewatering" the three mine sites.

Two of the mine sites are "open pit" and only one is an underground pit.

Carmen Copper plans to reactivate the existing mine and mill facilities formerly operated by Atlas Mining.

Carmen Copper will rehabilitate the mine facilities, mill plant and infrastructure.

It will construct a new land-based tailings disposal system, pier and concentrate loading facilities.

The reactivation of the plant would have a total project cost of P12.475 billion.

Carmen Copper’s  projected annual production capacity is 15.204 million DMT (dried metric tons) per year of copper ore.

Carmen Copper aims to start commercial operation by November this year and expects to generate employment for 3,455 workers.

Atlas Mining had previously planned to raise at least $75 million from the local stock exchange to finance the $150-million development cost of its copper-gold mining project under its mining subsidiary Carmen Copper Corp.

The other $75 million needed by Carmen Copper would have been raised through debt from "off-take" arrangements with foreign smelters being arranged by a financial adviser in London.

However, Atlas Mining recently opted to secure a $100-million loan from Deutsche Bank for the use of Carmen Copper.

Atlas Mining decided to create a copper mining subsidiary because the firm is engaged in several other activities that include nickel mining, exploration, water processing, urban development and construction and engineering.

Atlas’ mining activities in Toledo, Cebu begun in 1955 and was suspended in 1994 due to water intrusion, the Toledo mine site still has an estimated 870,000 copper ore reserve.

With world copper prices at record highs, Atlas is fastracking the rehabilitation of the Toledo mines .

Atlas was formally owned by the Sorianos but has since been taken over by the Alfred Ramos Group.