Agata Nickel

The Agata Direct Shipping Ore (DSO) Project is managed by Joint Venture (JV) company Agata Mining Ventures Inc. (AMVI or “Agata” / the “Company”) and is the third mining project that TVI Resource Development Philippines Inc. (TVIRD) brought on-stream in a period of 10 years. The JV is 60% owned by TVIRD, which is also the technical service provider of Agata. The remaining shares are held by Minimax Mineral Exploration Corporation and MRL Nickel Philippines Inc.

Agata holds an Operating Agreement approved by the Mines and Geosciences Bureau (MGB) – Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR). This agreement appoints Agata as the operator of the project with the mandate to develop and operate the contract area, including the extraction and sale of iron, nickel, and other associated minerals, in line with applicable permits and licenses.

Over the years, Agata has continuously proven that responsible mining is achievable in the Philippines. With its after-mine-life vision of developing its mine site into an Agroforestry and Eco-tourism Hub, the Company became the first in the region to integrate the concept of sustainable agriculture and tourism within a mining area.

Agata was consistently scored with “no significant negative findings” by the regulating government agencies.  It likewise received various national and international recognitions as a leading mining company in terms of safety, social, and environmental management for its efforts since its exploration days. These include three (3) Presidential Mineral Industry Environment Awards – the highest award for a mining company in the Philippines – and an ASEAN Mineral Award in 2019.

During its operations, Agata has invested almost P573 million in its Environmental Protection and Enhancement Program and almost P114 million in its Social Development and Management Program since 2014. In 2022, the Company garnered high scores in the Tenement, Safety and Health, Environment and Social Development (TSHES) Audit conducted by the Mines and Geosciences Bureau Regional Office No. XIII – which concluded that Agata remains “the gold standard of compliance amongst its counterparts in the mining capital of the Philippines, the Caraga Region”.

In November 2022, Agata declared the partial cessation of its mining operations and transitioned into the implementation of its Final Mine Rehabilitation and/or Decommissioning Plan FMRDP in 2023. Also in 2023, Agata was still able to ship out seven (7) remaining shipments of DSO. The ore came from its remaining and incidental high-iron ore stockpiles.

Nevertheless, the Mineral Production Sharing Agreement (MPSA) area where the Agata Nickel DSO Project is located remains valid until May 2049. This paves the way for the Company to pursue its limestone project as well as to study the technical and economic viability of other mineral prospects (copper and gold) within the tenement.

The Agata Nickel DSO Project site is located in a 4,995-hectare MPSA area in the adjacent municipalities of Tubay, Jabonga and Santiago, all in Agusan del Norte province. It is accessible by land (approximately 1.5-hours driving time) from the provincial capital of Butuan.

The project mine site is located 3.5 km from Agata’s private port, which is strategically located within proximity to main markets in Asia and bears the opportunity for shipping all year round.

The Project is located in the Surigao mining region – a major supplier of nickel ore to processing plants in Australia, China, Korea and Japan. The region is also a major driver of the Philippines’ leadership in nickel production.

See Project Location Map below.

In October 2014, Agata commenced a detailed exploration program consisting of in-fill, data verification and step-out drilling on the Agata nickel laterite orebody to define ore extension within and outside the current pit design and to upgrade and increase the resources previously disclosed in a National Instrument (NI) 43-101 compliant mineral resource estimate released on April 10, 2013.

In its nine (9) years of operations since 2014, Agata has mined and exported an estimated more than twenty (20) million WMT of nickel ore. This is equivalent to 382 shipments from the start of its mining operation up to August 2023.

During its last full year of operations, the Company generated revenues of over $43 million including premiums on nickel and iron as well as dispatch charges bonuses from operational efficiencies, total revenue has exceeded $45 million in 2022. At the height of its operations, Agata was able to achieve annual revenues of $89.25 million.