Holding company of Tujuh Bukit mine to launch IPO
Wednesday, February 26 2014 - 01:56 AM WIB
The paper said quoting a newswire report that the holding company was hoping to raise about US$75 million in proceeds, and for a market capitalization of $800 million on listing on the Indonesia Stock Exchange.
The company will use the proceeds to help finance the development of the Tujuh Bukit project, now controlled by tycoons Edwin Soeryadjaya and Sandiaga Uno.
Initial development of the project will be carried out at the end of 2014, hoping that the first gold production could be realized in 2016, while the construction of the copper project will start in 2019. The Tujuh Bukit project is said to hold the world?s largest undeveloped copper lodes.
Work will initially focus on a zone that according to a 2012 report may hold at least 1.6 million ounces of gold and 60 million ounces of silver.
Australian miner Intrepid Mines initially claimed ownership of the Tujuh Bukit project, located in Banyuwangi, East Java, which may hold 19 billion pounds of copper, nearly 29 million ounces of gold and 13 million ounces of silver.
But Intrepid was kicked off the site in 2012 by its partner, who transferred the mining leases into a new company and brought Edwin Soeryadjaya and other investors into the project.
Intrepid went to court and arbitration to reclaim its rights to 80 percent of the project, but finally gave up and reached a settlement last week with Edwin and his partners.
Under the deal, Intrepid received 22 percent in a new holding company, PT Merdeka Serasi Jaya, which it onsold to Singapore-based fund Kendall Court for $80 million. (*)