Rapu-Rapu Minerals mulls $1.9-billion additional investment

MANILA, Philippines - Rapu-Rapu Minerals Inc. (RRMI) plans to invest an additional $1.9 billion next year on new exploration and expansion activities, RRMI president Roger Corpus said yesterday.

Speaking on the sidelines at the opening of the Mining Philippines 2009 Exhibit at the Sofitel Hotel in Pasay City, Corpus said his company is starting exploration and expansion activities in at least seven tenement holdings near its present mine site on Rapu-Rapu Island in Albay province.

Corpus said the additional $1.9 million would be invested “if we hit a deposit.”

RRMI, Corpus said, has shipped almost 40,000 tons of various metals consisting of copper ore, gold, silver and zinc.

The company, he said, ships around 3,000 to 4,000 tons of ore every month since it resumed operations in October last year and is now basically self-liquidating.

The new owners of the Rapu-Rapu Polymetallic Project have spent around $300 million so far to upgrade the facilities of the mining operation, Corpus said.

Datu Dr. Mohammad Ajib Anuar, chief executive officer of the Malaysian Smelting Corp. (MSC) which acquired 30 percent of the Rapu-Rapu Polymetallic Project in partnership with the LG Group of Korea and Kores (the investment arm of the Korean government) which controls 70 percent of the Rapu-Rapu project through the holding company Philco Resources Limited, had announced that it expects to spend up to $50 million to rehabilitate the mine.

Annual production target of the rehabilitated mine is 10,000 tons of copper ore; 50,000 ounces of gold; 600,000 ozs. of silver and 14,000 tons of zinc.

Philco and MSC acquired the controversial Rapu-Rapu Polymetallic Project from Australia’s Lafayette Mining Limited.

LG and Kores, through their joint venture company Philco Resources Limited (Philco) and MSC reached an agreement with Lafayette Mining Limited to purchase Lafayette’s 74 percent stake in Lafayette Philippines Inc. (LPI).

The consortium reportedly paid an initial $18 million to Lafayette.

LPI owns 99.9 percent of the Rapu-Rapu Processing Inc. (RRPI) which holds a mineral processing permit (MPP) issued by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources.

At the same time, LPI controls 40 percent of Rapu-Rapu Minerals, Inc. (RRMI) which holds the mineral production sharing agreement (MPSA) for the Rapu-Rapu mine.

LPI also holds a 40 percent take in Rapu-Rapu Holdings, Inc. (RRHI) which, in turn, controls 60 percent of of RRMI.

LPI’s partner in RRHI is F & N Holdings Inc. which owns 60 percent.

F & N Holdings, Inc. is represented by lawyers whose principals are unknown.

Lafayette was forced to give up the Rapu-Rapu project following a mine tailings spill that forced the Australian mining firm to shut down operations of the copper and zinc mine in Rapu-Rapu Island in 2007.