Romualdez-led Bright Kindle buys Leyte mining firm

Martin Romualdez | PHOTO: Official website of The House of Representatives / congress.gov.ph

MANILA, Philippines —A company owned by the family of House Speaker Martin Romualdez is acquiring an iron sand mining firm in Leyte via a P5-billion share swap deal, expanding its operations in the mining sector.

Bright Kindle Resources and Investments Inc., through subsidiary Brightstar Holdings and Development Inc. (BHDI), would be issuing 100 million shares valued at P50 each to Strong Built Mining Development Corp. (SBMDC) in exchange for 100-percent ownership and operating control of the latter’s magnetite sand mining assets and business, a disclosure on Monday read.

Steel, which is used in the construction and manufacturing of cars and appliances, primarily uses magnetite.

Bright Kindle, formerly Bankard, started as a credit card corporation before transitioning into a holding company. It was a subsidiary of Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. until its sale in 2013 to Romualdez family-owned RYM Business Management Corp., which also owns mining firm Benguet Corp.

Bankard to Bright Kindle

The listed company incorporated BHDI in 2022 as a holding and investment company.

The entry into SBMDC “is envisioned to create synergies that will help realize the vast potential of mineral resources in the Philippines,” Bright Kindle said in a statement.

SBMDC, headquartered in Cebu and has a mining site in Leyte, produces iron ore and other associated mineral deposits. Its 25-year mineral production sharing agreement will expire in July 2032.

Bright Kindle noted that the SBMDC acquisition “presents a good opportunity” because the latter has a mineral production sharing agreement covering a 7,411-hectare (ha) magnetite iron sand mine in the municipalities of Dulag, Mayorga, MacArthur, Javier, and Abuyog in Leyte. It aims to produce about 1.6 million metric tons of magnetite concentrate annually.

Magnetite concentrate deposits

“SBMDC has economically viable deposits of magnetite concentrate. It currently operates approximately 30 percent of its tenement area; thereby, presenting a clear opportunity for potential growth and available resources for expansion of commercial operations,” the company added.

The acquisition is also seen to provide synergy with nickel mining company Marcventures Holdings Inc., where Bright Kindle owns a 19.9-percent stake.

Marcventures holds a mineral production sharing agreement covering a 4,799-ha area in Cantilan, Surigao del Sur. It is involved in mining, extracting, and smelting mineral ores such as nickel, chromite, copper, gold and manganese.

Bright Kindle purchased a stake in Marcventures in 2014. INQ