JAKARTA (TheInsiderStories) - Indonesian miner, PT Merdeka Copper & Gold Tbk (IDX: MDKA) announced last week to buyback shares as much as 229.03 million shares or equal to 1 percent of total issued and paid capital. For the program, the unit of PT Saratoga Investama Sedaya Tbk (IDX: SRTG) prepared funds Rp530 billion (US$36.30 million).
The company set the buyback shares period in 18 months since May 25. The purposed of the plans, said the management on April 17 to maintain the stability of its share price in the market.
In March, Merdeka Copper has announced to released two series of local bond up to Rp1.5 trillion to pay the debt and for working capital after end of last year has received single currency revolving facility agreement worth of $25 million. The company also plans to distribute Rp1 trillion for the unit, PT Bumi Suksesindo to fund the Tujuh Bukit Copper project.
The proceeds also distribute to PT Batutua Tembaga Raya and PT Batutua Kharisma Permai. Beside the tow projects, the mining firm with PT J Resources Asia Pasifik Tbk (IDX: PSAB) set up a joint venture company at the Pani Mine, which contains a gold resource of 4.6 million oz and is expected to have an annual production of more than 250,000 oz per annum for over 15 years.
After signing the cooperation agreement, the two issuers are currently awaiting approval from the regulator and the creditors. Second, the Tujuh Bukit, which is still in the pre-feasibility study stage, is targeted to be completed in 2021. The original plan for the copper project was to produce 70,000 to 90,000 tones of copper and 200,000 to 300,000 oz of gold over 20 years.
The project is a gold and silver mine located in Banyuwangi, East Java. In 2017, the unit conducted its first gold production. The mines utilizes an open pit mining system, followed by the crushing and agglomeration of ore, which is then stacked on the leach pad, where gold and silver deposits are bound through the leaching process, and flowed to the Adsorption, Desorption and Recovery Gold Processing Plant.
It has increased the ore processing capacity from the original capacity four MT of copper to 8 MT of copper per year which was completed in 2Q of 2019. As of Dec. 31, 2019, reserves in the Tujuh Bukit were estimated at 871,000 oz of gold and 351.150 oz of silver, with mineral resources in the oxide layer of 1.417 thousand oz of gold and 59.082 oz of silver.
The third project is AIM, a multi-commodity development project, which is expected to generate revenues of more than $200 million a year for 20 years period. The feasibility study for the cooperation project with Chinese firm, Tsingshan Holding Group, is expected to be completed in the fourth quarter of 2021.
The agreement was signed on Feb. 11, 2021 between PT Batutua Pelita Investama, Wealthy Source Holding Limited and Eternal Tsinghan Group Limited. The unit of Merdeka Copper and Tsinghan will hold 80 percent ownership in the new entity, while Wealthy will hold 20 percent.
In 2020, Australia’ investment company, Macquarie Capital Ltd., bought 1.01 billion shares of the miner for Rp2.43 trillion from Saratoga through a private placement scheme. In the same year, itts subsidiary, PT Batura Pelita Investama and Wealthy Source Holding Ltd., a unit of China’ Eternal Tsingshan Group Ltd., signed a deal to build the project.
The joint venture would handle the Acid Iron Metal project in the Indonesian Morowali Industrial Park area to process pyrite ore from Wetar copper project. The mining firm’ owned 80 percent at the new entiry and Tsingshan through its affiliate will hold 20 percent. Its targeting the production of copper around 14,000 to 17,000 tones from a year ago was 5,472 tones followed the development of the Partolang pit.
The company plans to integrated the Wetar copper mine and the Acid Iron Metal project at Lerokis mine to the new Partolang mine.
In this year, Merdeka Copper targeting the gold production up to 120,000 troy ounces or lower than 2020′ production of 157,175 troy ounces. With the capacity, in 2020, the mining producer sold 162,847 troy ounces of gold, dropped by 26.9 percent compared to the same period of 2019.
US$1: Rp14,600
Written by Editorial Staff, Email: theinsiderstories@gmail.com
