King-king project gets 25-yr MPSA extension

Villar-controlled St. Augustine Gold and Copper Ltd. (SAGC) on Monday announced that regulators had approved the renewal for another 25 years of the mineral production sharing agreement for the $2-billion King-king project in Compostela Valley.

This develops as Environment Secretary Regina Lopez on the same day celebrated the shuttering of illegal mining, especially those related to gold.

“Who needs gold? Gold is not essential for survival,” Lopez said in a briefing.

The Mines and Geosciences Bureau confirmed that the renewal of the MPSA for King-king was granted to Nationwide Development Corp. (Nadecor), SAGC’s partner.

However, Inquirer sources said the renewal was actually approved under the previous administration. Upon her appointment as DENR chief, Lopez vowed that no new mining activities would be allowed.

“The renewal of the MPSA represents another milestone in our ongoing efforts to advance and de-risk the King-king project,” St. Augustine president and chief executive Paolo A. Villar said in a statement.

“With all major mine permits approved, the MPSA renewal now paves the way for the next phase of King-king’s development,” Villar said.

He said SAGC, through Nadecor, would provide the needed financing, technology, management and personnel for King-king’s development, construction and operation.

Villar  said that following the approval earlier of the Declaration of Mining Project Feasibility (DMPF), Nadecor and SAGC would work cooperatively to advance the project to construction to be followed by operation of the mine.

He said the King-king Project was expected to have positive impact on all project stakeholders and the community at large, and has been “designed to minimize any environmental impact.”

Nadecor and SAGC expect to extract from King-king 3.16 billion pounds of copper and 5.43 million ounces of gold over 25 years. Ronnel W. Domingo