Miner willing to spend $26 M to study gold, copper project

MANILA, Philippines - A Philippine mining company established more than a century ago is willing to spend as much $26 million to examine the financial viability of a copper and gold project in Compostela Valley. Established in 1903, Benguet Corp. has already hired an Australian company “to prepare and finalize the bankable feasibility study" of the Kingking project, Benguet Corp. President Philip Benjamin Romualdez said. “If it’s absolutely necessary we could spend as much as $26m for bankable feasibility," he said. Besides having a proven reserve of 353 million metric tons of copper and gold worth $3.94 billion, the mine belongs to the Philippines’ top ten priority mining projects. An estimated $500 million to $750 million is needed to develop the project. Romualdez added the company has yet to finalize talks with China’s Jinchuan Group. Ltd. for a possible partnership. “We’ve had some proposals which we felt did not reflect the value of the project in the discussions. We’ll continue to work with our partner on this. But meanwhile we’re obligated as contractor/operator to move the project forward," he said. Besides Kingking, Benguet has also expressed interest in exploring the Pantingan Gold prospect in Bataan province, near Zambales. The company is also awaiting approval of its application for a financial and technical assistance agreement (FTAA) with the government for a 30,000 hectare mining claim in Ilocos Norte. The said area may contain iron, copper, and gold. - GMANews.TV