Semirara Mining spending P5B to modernize fleet

MANILA, Philippines - SEMIRARA ISLAND, Antique – Consunji-led Semirara Mining and Power Corp. (SMPC) is bankrolling P5 billion for fleet modernization to meet the requirements of its mine expansion, officials said yesterday.

SMPC chairman and chief executive officer Isidro Consunji said the company is undertaking a fleet modernization program to be financed through equity and debt.

“Some of it is financed by the banks, some are internally-generated. There will be an increase in debt to accommodate fleet modernization,” he said.

The company has spent P3.5 billion for the procurement of mining equipment in the first half of the year, significantly higher than the P980 million spent in the same period in 2016.

The company was able to deliver equipment which include 46 dump trucks, six hydraulic excavators and other support machinery. By year-end, SMPC is expecting the shipment of 21 more heavy equipment.

“The new dump trucks and hydraulic excavators are designed to be more fuel efficient so they will contribute to the reduction of our carbon footprint and operating costs,” SMPC president and chief operating officer Victor Consunji said.

According to its Japanese heavy equipment supplier, fuel consumption of the new dump trucks may be reduced by as much as 14 percent compared to older models. Fuel expenses account for about 40 to 45 percent of SMPC’s mining costs.

“This is just the start of our fleet modernization program. We plan to continue this next year by decommissioning our aging heavy equipment and replacing them with newer models,” the company president said.

“Our goal is to improve our operational efficiency and environmental performance,” he added.

In the next two to three years, SMPC said it will raise its coal output to 16 million metric tons (MT) in its coal mines in Antique after its amended environmental clearance certificate (ECC) was approved.

Last year was a banner year for Semirara after it managed to achieve the highest coal production level of 11.9 million MT, the maximum output of the coal mine.

The company submitted a work program to the Department of Energy (DOE) indicating a target coal production output of 14 million MT this year and 16 million MT in 2018.

Source: Philippine Star