DMCI units eye more nickel mines, power plant

MANILA, Philippines - The mining arm of Consunji-led DMCI Holdings Inc. (DMCI) is looking at acquiring more nickel mines while its power generation unit plans to build another 300 megawatt (MW) coal-fired power plant.

Cash flow from nickel operations will allow DMCI Mining Corp. to purchase more shares in copper and gold mines, its top executive said.

“We bought roughly 17 percent of Toledo (Mining Corp. Plc). We will probably buy another 17 percent,” DMCI Holdings president Isidro Consunji told reporters.

“I do not know the structure right now but essentially we will probably own 33 percent of Berong (Nickel Corp.) if it happened,” Consunji said.

In October, DMCI entered into a memorandum of understanding with Toledo Mining for the listed firm to buy into Nickeline Resources Holdings Inc. for $6.552 million.

Nickeline owns 60 percent of Berong Nickel, which is also owned by Ramos-led Atlas Consolidated Mining and Development Corp. and European Nickel Plc. (ENK). DMCI also owns 60 percent of ENK.

The Berong mine in Palawan has a potential resource of 120 million metric tons (MT) containing 1.34 percent of nickel. Last year, the mine produced 315,000 wet MT of nickel ore.

“The plan is to acquire more companies with direct shipping ore and trade the cash flow to buy into copper and gold,” Consunji said.

In April, the Consunji family acquired a 5.3-percent stake in Atlas, a diversified mining conglomerate in the Philippines whose wholly-owned subsidiary Carmen Copper Corp. is currently the largest exporter of copper concentrates.

Meanwhile, DMCI’s power generation and coal mining arm will expand an existing power plant in Batangas.

“I am building my 300 MW power plant today. I will build the next 300 MW with or without offtake,” Consunji said.

Semirara Mining Corp., through subsidiary SEM Calaca Power Corp., will complete this year the rehabilitation of the 600-MW, two-unit coal-fired power plant in Calaca, Batangas. The power plant, which was acquired in 2009 for $361.7 million, will operate at a capacity of 550 MW from 340 MW.

In February, subsidiary Southwest Luzon Power Generation Corp. borrowed a total of P11.5 billion from BDO Unibank Inc., Bank of the Philippine Islands and China Banking Corp. to fund the construction and operation of two 150-MW coal-fired thermal power plants.

Consunji said on top of the two new units, the company will build another 300 MW power plant even if it does not sign an offtake agreement with power distribution giant Manila Electric Co. (Meralco).

“If Meralco does not buy my power, I sell it to somebody else,” Consunji said.

The listed firm operates a coal mine in Semirara Island in Antique. Coal output fuels the company’s power plants.