UPDATE: Indophil: Lareg Corps, SWFs Interested In Tampakan
June 26 2009 - 12:49AM
Dow Jones News
Indophil Resources Ltd. (IRN.AU) Friday said the sale process of
its 34.23% stake in the copper-gold Tampakan project in the
Philippines was ongoing, with a number of interested parties
signing confidentiality agreements to enter its data room.
"The interested parties are the tier-one corporates and the
tier-one sovereign wealth funds. You're looking at the big end of
town," a spokesman for Indophil told Dow Jones Newswires.
Analysts have tentatively pegged the development cost for
Tampakan at US$3 billion, but that is likely to go up given the
size of the project.
Indophil gave the update on the sale after Tampakan's joint
venture partners announced they had given the go-ahead for a final
feasibility study of the giant project in southern Mindanao.
Aside from Indophil, diversified miner Xstrata PLC (XTA.LN)
holds a 62.5% in Tampakan through subsidiary Sagittarius Mines
Inc., and the remaining 3.27% is owned by private investment group
Alsons Corp.
The Melbourne-based junior minor last year signed a memorandum
of intent with Alsons to sell its stake.
Shareholders in November approved the transaction but no deal
has been struck since.
Xstrata itself holds a 19.9% stake in Indophil and voted against
the transaction.
"Alsons is still a partner in the project," the spokesman
said.
The study targets an initial 20-year mine life at an average
annual production of 340,000 metric tons of copper and 350,000 troy
ounces of gold, with a cash cost estimate of less than 46 U.S.
cents a pound after gold credits.
Based on the current schedule, the feasibility study is expected
to be submitted to the government by the second quarter of 2010,
Sagittarius said in a statement.
Engineering and construction company Bechtel and Xstrata will
lead the feasibility study.
-By Elisabeth Behrmann, Dow Jones Newswires;
61-2-8272-4689 elisabeth.behrmann@dowjones.com
Indophil Resources (ASX:IRN)
Historical Stock Chart
From Sep 2024 to Oct 2024
Indophil Resources (ASX:IRN)
Historical Stock Chart
From Oct 2023 to Oct 2024