Lepanto to raise P1.75B via share sale

Lepanto Consolidated Mining Co. plans to raise P1.75 billion through a share offer to investors to help fund the development of its copper gold project in Benguet.

The company said in a stock exchange filing on Monday that the fund-raising initiative would be done via a rights offer of 1 share for every 4.685 shares held at P0.15 a share.

This was a 23.5-percent discount to the company’s current market value a day before the announcement was made.

Lepanto said fresh funds would be used for the further exploration and development of the copper-gold project, purchase of mining equipment, and the settlement of debt and pension obligations.

The miner, led by businessman Felipe Yap, said the record and offer dates would be announced upon PSE approval of its listing application.

Lepanto recently said it would resume copper concentrate production following two years of drilling in the Copper Gold Project, metallurgical tests, and rehabilitation of its copper flotation plant.

“The said plant is presently being debugged, and will be operated to produce gold- and silver-bearing copper concentrate, alongside carbon-in-pulp plant that will continue to produce gold ore,” Lepanto said.

Lepanto noted that initial run-of-mine production from Victoria and the Copper Gold Project is 1,500 tons per day (tpd), ramping up to 1,900 tpd by the year-end, and 3,000 tpd by 2019.

The miner said a technical report required under the Philippine Mineral Reporting Code by a competent person on the mineral resource was “presently being reviewed and finalized, for submission in due course.”