MacroAsia approves deal for Palawan mine

MACROASIA Corp. said on Monday that its board of directors had approved an agreement that would allow Calmia Nickel, Inc. to explore a nickel mine of its subsidiary.

In a stock exchange disclosure, MacroAsia said its board cleared the signing of a memorandum of agreement between its mining unit MacroAsia Mining Corp. (MMC) and Calmia Nickel.

“Once signed, Calmia Nickel, Inc. shall be allowed to explore and operate the mining tenement of MMC in Brooke’s Point, Palawan,” the company said in the disclosure.

It did not disclose details about Calmia Nickel. The signing of the agreement took place during a special board meeting on July 23.

In April, MacroAsia disclosed that MMC received an order from the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) approving the deeds of assignment for two mineral production sharing agreements (MPSA).

The company said MPSA No. 220-2005-IVB and MPSA No. 221-2005-IVB will be recorded in the name of MMC.

The MPSAs are located in Brooke’s Point, Palawan and grant exclusive rights to explore, develop, and commercially utilize nickel, chromite, iron, and other associated mineral deposits within the contract area.

MacroAsia reported a P284.36 net loss for the first quarter, a reversal of the P17.58-million net income it had in the same period last year, due to effects of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic to its business units.

On Monday, shares of MacroAsia at the stock exchange fell 1.92% or nine centavos to close at P4.60 apiece. — Revin Mikhael D. Ochave