| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 |
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 |
advertisement | ||
Friday March 23, 6:47 PMManila's MacroAsia in nickel deal with JinchuanMANILA, March 23 (Reuters) - Philippine holding firm MacroAsia Corp. (MAC) said on Friday it has signed a services agreement that allows China's biggest nickel producer, Jinchuan Group Ltd, to explore and study a local nickel mining project.MacroAsia, owned by Lucio Tan, whom Forbes magazine ranks as one of the Philippines' richest men, holds the right to a dormant nickel mine in Brooke's Point in southwestern Palawan province. "Jinchuan intends to conduct due diligence on the property in Brooke's Point, Palawan for a further possible joint exploration with MAC on its own expense and has designed an exploration programme to this effect," MacroAsia said in a disclosure to the Philippine stock exchange. The agreement also includes independent exploration service contractor and drilling equipment provider JCP Geo-Ex Services, which will help Jinchuan in its study. MacroAsia earlier said two other foreign firms -- Japan's top gold producer, Sumitomo Metal Mining Co. Ltd. , and Mitsubishi Metal, a unit of Japan's biggest trading house, Mitsubishi Corp. -- were also interested in the nickel project. MacroAsia holds exclusive rights to explore, develop and utilise for commercial purposes nickel, chromite, iron and other mineral deposits that may be found in 1,114 hectares of land in Brooke's Point. The company said it has to finish a detailed exploration of its nickel mine, which it would use as basis for talks with foreign investors. Tan's son, Lucio Jr., said last month Jinchuan wanted exclusivity in the nickel project unlike the other foreign investor groups. Shares of MacroAsia jumped 3.77 percent to 2.75 pesos ($0.06) on Friday, outperforming the main stock index , which fell 0.26 percent. The stock is up 31 percent so far this year, reaching its peak of 3.15 pesos last month. Nickel prices hit fresh record highs every day last week as available supply failed to meet daily demand, not least from China. The Philippine government estimates the archipelago has $1 trillion worth of unexplored copper, gold, nickel and zinc and is seeking $6.5 billion from foreign investors to revive its mining sector, spur economic growth and reduce its debts. |
|||
|
Copyright © 2005 Reuters Limited. All rights reserved. Republication or redissemination of the contents of this screen are expressly prohibited without the written consent of Reuters Limited
|