Nadecor faction, mining partner take venture to next level
A faction of Nationwide Development Corp. (Nadecor) and foreign partner St. Augustine Gold and Copper Ltd. Wednesday took to the next level their joint venture to develop the King-king deposit in Compostela Valley.
St. Augustine turned over to Nadecor a document that finalizes the $18.25-million purchase of King-king operating rights from Benguet Corp.
The American company reached the full and final settlement with Benguet in August 2011 for the mineral production sharing agreement (MPSA) covering the King-king deposit, after making a down payment of $8 million and a final payment of $10.25 million.
The turnover of the papers to Nadecor was delayed when an intracorporate dispute arose between groups led by Jose Manuel H. Ricafort and another by Conrado T. Calalang—both of whom now serve as president of their respective boards.
Both factions now claim to represent a majority of Nadecor shareholders.
Roberto R. Romulo, chair of the Calalang-led board, said in a briefing the turnover gives the joint venture clear title to the King-king project, enabling Nadecor to assign the King-king MPSA to the joint venture firm.
Also, the turnover has cemented St. Augustine’s status as the joint venture partner for the King-king project.
But the rival Ricafort faction asserts that Nadecor has severed its ties with St. Augustine after its own board of directors rescinded agreements with the latter last year.
Kee Ming Chi, St. Augustine general counsel and one of two representatives to the Calalang board, said the Washington-state based company is “extremely pleased with the substantial milestone … which paves the way for the King-king project to advance.”
Asked why St. Augustine is betting on Nadecor, which still has a pending case with the Supreme Court, Kee said that based on the advice of several law firms, the facts of the case lean on the Calalang group’s favor.
“We believe the dispute has been decided at the moment,” the lawyer said. “We are a single-asset firm and everything is incentivized to King-king.”
He said Nadecor’s internal dispute may take years to resolve, but the King-king project cannot be left idle during that time.
If the King-king project doesn’t move forward, shareholders won’t get anything from the funds they have entrusted to St. Augustine, Kee explained.
Meanwhile, Romulo expressed concern that the King-king development may go the way of the Tampakan project because of the dispute.
Sagittarius Mines Inc. earlier announced that it would downsize its operations in Tampakan, also in Mindanao, as it strove to meet regulatory requirements.
“We do not want King-king to be another Tampakan. That’s why we are very concerned about statements from the Ricafort group that discourages investments in this project,” Romulo said.
In a press statement, Nadecor legal counsel Zamora Poblador Vasquez & Bretana law offices enumerated some of the alleged “extra legal acts” of the Calalang faction.
The lawyers, said the Calalang group announced that it held its own stockholders meeting last Aug. 13 “at an undisclosed time and in an undisclosed location in Pasig City.”
“This supposed meeting is patently illegal and thus void,” the lawyers said, adding that some Nadecor shareholders received notices of the purported meeting after it was supposedly held.
