DMCI acquires UK nickel miner’s Phl unit

MANILA, Philippines -  DMCI Holdings Inc. has secured full ownership of a British nickel miner with local mining rights for more than P3 billion.

This increased the exposure of the Consunji family’s listed investment firm in nickel mining just as world nickel prices entered a bull market.

In a regulatory filing, DMCI Holdings said it acquired D&A Income Ltd.’s 40-percent stake in ENK Plc., which has shares in various mining projects in the Philippines.

DMCI Holdings said it paid in cash the 104.84 million shares worth 42.02 million pounds (around P3.12 billion).

“Upon completion of the acquisition, the company will be the registered owner of 100 percent of the outstanding capital stock of ENK,” DMCI Holdings said. In September 2012, a consortium led by DMCI Holdings acquired 60-percent share in UK-listed ENK.

ENK owns the mining rights for the 3,765-hectare Acoje project in Zambales province. Combined inferred and indicated resource of the property is at 50.14 million metric tons (MT), of which 1.08 percent is nickel and 0.05 percent is cobalt.

The British miner is also the firm behind the Zambales chro-mite project located five kilometres north of the Acoje project. The 540-hectare property, which is 40 percent owned by ENK and 60 percent owned by local partner Montemina Resources Corp., has an inferred resource of 23.5 million tons grading 1.18 percent nickel and 0.05 percent cobalt.

In the fiscal year 2011-2012 that ended in March, ENK’s net loss narrowed to $33.17 million from $74.54 million a year ago.

For DMCI Holdings, earnings from its nickel mining operations slipped to P20 million in January to September from P449 million a year ago. DMCI Holdings currently does not have any nickel mining operations in Zambales due to permitting issues.

In October 2012, DMCI Holdings 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 has a resource of 120 million MT containing 1.34 percent of nickel. In 2011, the Berong mine produced 315,000 wet MT of nickel ore.

Aside from nickel mining, DMCI Holdings is also into power generation and coal mining (Semirara Mining Corp.), water utilities (west zone concessionaire Maynilad Water Services Inc.), real estate (DMCI Project Developers Inc. that owns residential brand DMCI Homes) and general construction (D.M. Consunji Inc.). It also has a minority stake in the San Miguel Corp.-controlled Private Infrastructure Development Corp., the firm that will build the P18-billion, 88-kilometer Tarlac-Pangasinan-La Union Expressway.