By Alena Mae S. Flores Posted on Jan. 10, 2013 at 12:01am
The coal unit of Philex Petroleum Corp. said Wednesday it will suspend mining operations in Zamboanga Sibugay pending the conduct of a six-month operational review in the wake of falling coal prices.
Philex Petroleum said wholly-owned subsidiary Brixton Energy and Mining Corp. “has recently been adversely affected by the significant drop in coal prices.”
Philex Petroleum is a unit of mining giant Philex Mining Corp.
Brixton general manager Isagani Francisco told Manila Standard the coal price being quoted by a customer in January declined by almost half from the 2012 contract price.
“This will definitely have a negative impact on Brixton’s financial position,” Francisco said when asked about how the shutdown would impact on the company’s finances.
“In response to this unexpected change in market conditions, it has been decided to undertake a detailed review of the operations and prospects of the coal mining project under coal operating contract No. 130 located at Diplahan, Zamboanga Sibugay. It is anticipated that this review could take up to six months to complete,” Philex Petroleum said.
Brixton is engaged in coal operation in Diplahan, Zamboanga Sibugay and started commercial production last year.
The company said while the review was ongoing, Brixton determined that it would be prudent to suspend underground mining operations.
“In the meantime, activities will be confined to maintenance and repair of the coal mine, and to processing and marketing of existing coal inventory,” it said.
Francisco said after the review, “the viability of continuously operating Brixton will be determined.” source
No comments:
Post a Comment