Benguet Corp. gets $20-M financing line

BENGUET Corp. has secured access to $20 million in funding for working capital and other requirements as it embarks on an expansion strategy.

The country’s oldest miner disclosed to the Philippine Stock Exchange that it has signed a $20-million pre-export financing facility agreement with AmsterdamTrade Bank (N.V.) and Maybank Philippines Inc. for its working capital and capital expenditure requirements.

Benguet CFO Renato Claravall earlier said that Benguet was seeking funding for capital requirements, mainly for mine operations. Among other projects, the company is developing its pioneering gold tailings reprocessing project and expanding its gold and nickel operations.

Benguet is developing the Balatoc gold tailings project in Benguet province. The company aims to recover about 17,000 ounces of gold a year over 10 years from the tailings on its property.

Subsidiary Balatoc Gold Resources Corp. is set to put up the gold recovery facility by the first quarter of 2013. Once completed, it will be the first commercial gold tailings recovery project in the Philippines.

Benguet is actually working on three parallel programs: turning mine waste into gold at its Balatoc property in Benguet province; reviving underground mining at the Acupan gold project, also in Benguet province, and a $120-million nickel processing program for the Sta. Cruz nickel project in Zambales.

In May, Benguet president and CEO Philip Romualdez said at the company’s stockholders’ meeting that income might hit P1 billion for 2012 on higher metal production.