Two coal reserves in Davao valued at P4B

Business World Online

Posted on March 31, 2013 10:56:41 PM

LISTED Coal Asia Holdings, Inc. has valued the mineable reserves of its two coal mine deposits in Davao Oriental at P4.1 billion based on an independent study commissioned by the company.In a statement last Tuesday, Coal Asia said that it has updated the evaluation of its mineable coal reserves within 400 hectares of its coal operating contract (COC), which represents 3% of its 13,000-hectare concession area in the provinces of Davao Oriental and Zamboanga Sibugay.
The new valuation covers its Bactinan and Macopa coal mine deposits -- two of the 11 coal basins covered by COC 159 granted by the Energy department to the company. The remaining large coal deposits include Tagbay, Madsayap, South Macopa, East Bactinan, Bato bato and Kapasan.
The company said that its subsidiary, Titan Mining & Energy Corp. (TMEC), commissioned an independent third-party consultant to reevaluate the two coal deposits.
“Given the results of this latest study, it appears that Coal Asia is well on its way to exceeding an earlier independent valuation by Multinational Investment Bancorporation which had valued the company at P12.5 billion considering the 13,000 hectares in Davao Oriental and Zamboanga Sibugay,” the statement read.
Coal Asia said that the updated study confirmed that the coal proven reserves of the two coal mines stand at five million metric tons (MT), which is just a portion of the 123-million-MT resource and reserve figure identified by the Philippine Mineral Reporting Code standard geological report in April 2012.
“Actual commercial production for these two sites commences in the fourth quarter of this year and is projected to generate 500,000 MT in the first full year of operations,” the statement read.
Coal Asia noted that the two sites have at least 10 years of mine life.
“Despite the recent volatility of coal prices, the key financial indicators of the Bactinan and Macopa coal deposits, as determined by the feasibility study, speak volumes of the lucrative nature of this project,” the statement quoted Coal Asia Chairman Harald R. Tomintz as saying. “The valuation of the Bactinan and Macopa deposits alone already represents 103% of Coal Asia’s current market capitalization. And this is just the tip of the iceberg so to speak,” he added.
Coal Asia is an investment holding company engaged in the acquisition of firms specializing in the exploration, development, and mining of coal and other energy-related businesses in the Philippines and in Asia, according to its Web site.
The company’s shares were last traded on Wednesday at P1.04 apiece, up 5.05% or five centavos from P0.99 apiece on Tuesday. -- Claire-Ann Marie C. Feliciano    source