MRC Allied in talks with 3 groups

MANILA, Philippines - MRC Allied Inc., a publicly-listed holding firm led by businessman Benjamin Bitanga, is in talks with three investor groups from China, Australia and the Philippines to jointly develop a 7,995-hectare gold and copper mine site in Mindanao.

Bitanga, president of MRC, declines to name the interested parties but said these groups are all involved in the mining business. He said the company is not in a rush to get a partner for its mine site located in Kiblawan and Columbio, Sultan Kudarat.

 “It would be wise for MRC to choose the best proposal, one which would give long-term value for the company,” Bitanga said.

The company earlier announced plans to undertake a P1.5-billion private placement as part of a two-phased fund-raising program for the project which is adjacent to the $5.2-billion Tampakan copper-gold mine.

The Tampakan mine is believed to contain one of the biggest untapped copper resources in Southeast Asia. 

The company earlier said it was also looking to take MRC Tampakan Mines Inc. public. Tampakan Mines is a newly-organized company that will serve as the group’s vehicle for the project.

MRC chief financial officer Vicente Laza said those that would subscribe to the private placement would have an option to convert their MRC common shares to shares of MRC Tampakan or avail of a 20 percent discount on MRC Tampakan’s IPO price.

MRC’s entry into the mining business was formalized following the signing of a mining operations agreement with Alberto Mining Corp., through its president Geronimo Palermo. Under the agreement, MRC issued P300 million worth of shares and cash to Alberto Mining, which is reportedly the same group behind Sagittarius Mines, which owns the 11,000-hectare Tampakan copper gold project.

The company is upbeat on the Kiblawan project, pointing out that earlier geological studies showed similar findings as those in the Tampakan mine during its initial test phase.