By Alena Mae S. Flores
Semirara Mining and Power Corp. (SMPC) targets to start production of the Acacia mine in Caluya, Antique by next year that will sustain its operations in the medium term, a company executive said Monday.
SMPC president, chief operating officer, and chief sustainability offi-cer Maria Cristina Gotianun said during the annual stockholders’ meeting they expect to receive the environmental compliance certificate from the Department of Environment and Natural Resources within the second half of 2025.
“Exploration and pre-stripping activities are currently underway with production targeted to begin within 2026,” Gotianun said.
She said the Acacia mine is expected to support the sustainability of the company’s mining operations. The Acacia mine is located northwest of the Molave pit, which reached end of mine life in 2023.
SMPC earlier said the Acacia prospect is one of the company’s exploration efforts to discover additional coal resources with the objective of developing new mine reserves. The Acacia prospect has an estimated reserve of 66 million metric tons (MMT).
SMPC chairman Isidro Consunji said the company also expects to approval from the Department of Energy of its amended coal operating contract. SMPC’s COC in Caluya, Antique is set to expire on July 14, 2027.Consunji said the company stays focused on navigating market pressures while exploring growth opportunities in 2025.“We are revisiting our options and project studies for St. Raphael Power Generation Corporation considering the NGCP’s recent updates to its 2024-2050 Transmission Development Plan,” he said.
St. Raphael is the corporate vehicle for SMPC’s planned 700 megawatt coal plant in Calaca, Batangas.
Consunji said the company also expects its 10 percent stake in Cemex Holdings Philippines, which was finalized on December 2, 2024, to “open new avenues for growth and synergies.”
Gotianun said the company is focused on controlling “what we can and effectively managing external factors” as market prices are expected to continue to normalize this 2025.
“We are strengthening our customer network, boosting operational efficiencies, and implementing effective cost management and margin protection strategies,” she said.
She said that in order to reduce reliance on a single major market, SMPC are actively expanding our export reach and diversifying into new markets.
SMPC is also progressing with its plan to partially source electricity requirements from wind energy for mining operations, with targeted implementation within the second quarter of 2025 in line with its cost management and sustainability goals.
“Within the second quarter of 2025, our mining operations will begin sourcing power from a 12 megawatts wind farm on Semirara Island. Through this renewable energy offtake, we aim to reduce carbon emissions, decrease diesel dependency, and lower overall power generation costs,” Gotianun said.
She said SMPC also aims to secure contracts for approximately 50 percent of our 756 MW net selling capacity in the power segment.
“This strategic move will secure stable revenue while providing flexibility to manage demand fluctuations. To date, we have secured and implemented 267 MW of contracted capacity. This brings our total contracted capacity for the quarter to 334 MW, representing 42 percent of our net sellable capacity,” she said.
