The Consunji family plans to inject its 10-percent stake in Tampakan, the country’s largest gold and copper mine in South Cotabato, into its listed holding company.
DMCI Holdings president and chief executive Isidro Consunji said in a recent interview the injection of Tampakan stake, which is under the family’s private company Dacon Corp., in DMCI could happen once Tampakan becomes operational.
“When Tampakan starts operating,” Consunji said when asked when the project would be absorbed by DMCI Mining, the mineral production unit of DMCI Holdings.
The Sy family, the majority shareholder in the Tampakan project, was reportedly planning to get a foreign investor to invest in the project.
Consunji said during the company’s annual stockholders meeting in May the group was looking to a acquire a larger copper and gold mine asset in Mindanao.
DMCI through its subsidiary DMCI Mining operates open-pit mines in Palawan and Zambales through its subsidiaries Berong Nickel Corp. (BNC) and Zambales Diversified Metals Corp. (ZDMC).
BNC and ZDMC extract nickel ore, chromite and iron laterite using safe and low-cost surface mining techniques.
DMCI Mining is set to start operating two new nickel mines this year in Zambales and Palawan
DMCI Mining swung to a P65-million net loss in the first half of 2024 from a P723-million income last year as a result of weak market prices, reduced shipments and costs incurred at its Palawan mine.
Total revenues fell 60 percent to P437 million from P1.08 billion. Total production dropped by 37 percent from 523,000 wet metric tons (WMT) to 323,000 WMT as a result of permit delays and the near-depletion of its sole operating mine.
Meanwhile, total shipments dropped 34 percent to 322,000 WMT from 487,000 WMT on reduced demand from China for Philippine nickel ore amid global oversupply.
Average nickel grade sold slipped 3 percent, from 1.35 percent to 1.31 percent, reflecting the management’s strategy to hold higher-grade nickel amid depressed global prices.
The mining firm earlier secured an additional P300 million in long-term debt to fund the development of new mines.
Aside from mining, DMCI also has investments in coal mining, power generation and real estate.
