Lafayette spending $50M to refurbish plant By Amy R....

Lafayette spending $50M to refurbish plant


By Amy R. Remo
Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted 01:57:00 07/31/2008


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Close this The new management of the mining company Lafayette Philippines Inc. will spend as much as $50 million to re-commission its processing plant next month, an official said.

The processing plant will be refurbished and its facilities upgraded, said Ajib Anuar, chief executive of Malaysia Smelting Corp. Bhd, which owns 30 percent of Lafayette.

Lafayette runs the Rapu-Rapu polymetallic mine in the province of Albay, southeast of Manila. Seventy percent of its stock is held by Philco Resources Ltd., a company registered in Labuan, Malaysia, and 60-percent owned by LG International Corp. and 40-percent by Korea Resources Corp.

Anuar said the recommended spending for refurbishment was needed to reach annual production targets of at least 10,000 tons of copper; 50,000 ounces of gold; 600,000 ounces of silver, and 14,000 tons of zinc.

He said the “new management will show that it is committed to protecting and implementing good mining practices in the province.”

Anuar said Lafayette would resume operation in August and planned to start shipping cooper, gold, silver and zinc within the year.

Anuar is president of the Malaysian Chamber of Mines. He spoke to reporters on the sidelines of a lecture series of the Chamber of Mines of the Philippines. Edited by INQUIRER.net