MANILA, Philippines - Publicly listed MRC Allied Inc. and an Australian firm are finalizing a joint venture deal covering the former's gold and copper mine in Surigao del Sur.

In a disclosure to the stock exchange, MRC Allied, which is controlled by a group led by businessmen Benjamin Bitanga and Lucio Tan Jr., said it received a proposal from a Sydney-based company on the joint development of its 3,718-hectare property in Marihatag in Mindanao.

Under the proposal, the parties will form a new company, wherein MRC Allied will have controlling share.

"The new company will be brought to an initial public offering in the Australian Stock Exchange, with the Surigao tenement as its primary asset," MRC Allied said.

The new firm will have an initial valuation of $200 million.

"We are currently in the process of finalizing the terms of our agreement on the matter."

MRC Allied entered into a mining operations agreement for the Marihatag property only in January.

The company has other mining assets in Davao del Sur, Sultan Kudarat and Davao Oriental. Earlier, it said it was raising capital through the sale of shares to finance these projects. (abs-cbnnews)