MANILA, Philippines?Diversifying conglomerate San Miguel Corp. has gained a foothold in the mining industry with a recent deal to acquire 100 percent of Daguma Agro Minerals Inc., a mining firm with development and production rights in coal-rich Lake Sebu, South Cotabato.

The takeover of the mining project is in line with San Miguel?s plan to put up a coal-fired power plant in General Santos City as another power crisis looms due to the shortage of additional power-generating capacity given the rising demand.

In a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange Monday, San Miguel said it had acquired 100 percent of the outstanding stocks of Daguma for its energy subsidiary San Miguel Energy Corp. (SMEnergy).

?SMEnergy contemplates to maximize the utilization of the coal deposits of Daguma in South Cotabato and is presently evaluating the viability of constructing and operating a 150- to 300-megawatt mine-mouth power plant in the vicinity of General Santos City,? the disclosure said.

The Daguma coal project holds a 2,000-hectare license area with a potential coal reserve of 104 million metric tons. The coal quality in the project is of medium calorific value and is deemed suitable for export to markets like India and China as well as for local power generation and other industrial purposes like cement manufacturing.

It was earlier reported that San Miguel would have to invest as much as $1 million to produce one megawatt from coal resources. This means that for a 300-MW project, San Miguel would need to invest $300 million or about P13.5 billion.

San Miguel acquired the coal mine because it was believed to have enough reserves to enable the company?s planned power facilities to provide the Mindanao grid as much as 2,000 MW a year.

The Daguma coal project earlier lost its strategic British investor, Crew Gold Corp., allegedly due to some community opposition to the project.