TVI Resources, DMCI unit form joint venture for mining project

MANILA, Philippines - TVI Resource Development Philippines, Inc. (TVIRD) has signed a joint venture agreement with DMCI subsidiary Dacon for a $2-million project to explore TVIRD’s greater Canatuan tenement area.

Dacon is a member of the DMCI Group of Companies which has extensive holdings in general construction, coal mining, power generation, infrastructure and real estate development and manufacturing in the Philippines.

The greater Canatuan tenement project area is immediately north of TVIRD’s copper-zinc mine at Canatuan.

In a disclosure to the Australian Stock Exchange, TVIRD’s mother firm, TVI Pacific, Inc., said the partnership with Dacon provides the opportunity to extend the mine life at Canatuan by further evaluating already identified deposits and possibly locating new ones.

“We are extremely pleased to be entering into this partnership with Dacon. We view this as a first step in establishing a long-term relationship with an important Filipino conglomerate,” said Cliff James, president and chief executive officer of TVI.

“In addition to having an important presence in the Zamboanga Peninsula, our new partner has a number of mineral properties around the country for which our combined talents could prove mutually beneficial over the longer term,” James added.

Under the agreement, TVIRD and Dacon will form the joint venture within 90 days from the execution of the agreement.

The joint venture interest will be 70-percent TVIRD and 30-percent Dacon, with TVIRD acting as the operator.

The joint venture partners will fund an exploration program in the greater Canatuan tenement for a period of two years amounting to a maximum of $2 million, to be shared in accordance with their interests in the joint venture.

TVI Pacific is a publically traded, profitable, low cost copper producer focused on the production, development, exploration and acquisition of precious and base metal mining deposits in the Philippines.

The company’s interest in the Canatuan mine and its other Philippine assets are held through its affiliate, TVIRD.