Nickel Asia Corp. (NAC) has canceled plans to be the exclusive contractor for two mine sites in Davao Oriental, the listed mining company announced on Monday.
Hallmark Mining Corp. and Austral-Asia Link Mining Corp. have agreed to terminate Nickel Asia’s letter of intent to serve as their exclusive contractor, the company told the stock exchange.
“The parties failed to agree on the commercial terms of the definitive agreements regarding the proposed provision by NAC of its mining contractor services to Hallmark and Austral-Asia,” the company said.
Hallmark has a mineral production sharing agreement with the local government covering 4,999.71 hectares located in Mati and San Isidro, Davao Oriental.
Austral-Asia’s, on the other hand, spans 5,000 hectares located in Mati and Gov. Generoso, Davao Oriental.
In February last year, Nickel Asia said that the two mining firms had accepted its letter of intent to be the sole and exclusive mining service contractor for Hallmark and Austral-Asia’s mineral production sharing agreements.
“The [letter of intent] permits the conduct of a feasibility study to determine the economic and technical viability for NAC to establish a high-pressure acid leach or equivalent mineral processing plant within the… area,” the company said.
On Monday, Nickel Asia shares rose by seven centavos or 1.52%, closing at P4.67 per share. — Adrian H. Halili