Announcement of IFC Assists Philippine Mining Industry Three Million Fifty Thousand US Dollars for Acoje Expansion Project on June 29, 1977

• International Finance Corporation ~- ' IFC Press ReleaseI No. 77/23 Wednesday, June 219, 1977 IFC Assists Philippine Mining Industry $3.5 Million for Acoje Expansion Project The International Finance Corporation (IFC), an affiliate of the World Bank, is investing approximately $3.5 million in Acoje Mining Company, Inc., of the Philippines, to help finance a $9.1 million expansion of its ore processing facilities. Acoje is a diversified mining concern producing metallurgical grade chromite, copper and nickel ore concentrates from two mines in Zambales and Pangasinan provinces, about 150 miles northwest of Manila. The project, for which IFC is providing $2.3 million in loan and • $1.2 million in equity, will increase Acoje's chromite ore processing capacity from 800 to 1,200 metric tons per day and double ... its copper ore processing capacity to 1,000 tons per day. The Private Development Corporation of the Philippines, a development finance instit'Ution which both IFC and the World Bank helped to establish, is lending $3 million to Acoje. Cash generation of approximately $2.6 million completes the project financing. The project is part of a three-year expansion program and supports the Government's policy of developing mineral resources for export. Acoje's pro- duction is sold abroad, principally to Japans and the increased output will generate estimated foreign exchange earnings of $7 million a year. The project will create some 300 jobs, permit the company to phase out its underground copper mine and shift to open pit operations, and accelerate its exploration and mine preparation activities. Acoje is 90 percent Philippine-owned and its shares are widely held ·by the public. The largest shareholders are the Cabarrus interests of the Philippines • • (Any inquiries strictly relating to IFC's participation in this project should by directed to the IFC Information Office, 1818 H Street, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20433, Telephone (202) 477-6247.)