RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL--(Marketwire - March 16, 2010) - In compliance with article 157 of
Law # 6404/76 and with provisions of Instruction 358/02 of the Brazilian
Securities Commission (Comissão de Valores Mobiliários, or "CVM"), MPX
Energia S.A. ("MPX" or "the Company") (BOVESPA: MPXE3) releases to its
shareholders and the market in general the Business Plan ("Business Plan")
for its wholly-owned subsidiary, MPX Colombia ("MPX Colombia").
The drilling campaign carried out until Feb/2010, with 195 boreholes
reporting coal seams out of a total of 266 that have been completed and a
total of 90,000 meters drilled, indicates potential resources of 1.74
billion tons of coal. The positive results achieved so far and the
acquisition of a strategic site for the construction of a private port set
the basis for the development of an integrated coal mining system with an
output capacity of 20 million tons per year (Mty).
The system will encompass 3 open-cast mines, in Cañaverales, Papayal and
San Benito, and underground mining in San Juan. Production shall begin in
2012 and, based on current resource estimates, it might reach 15 Mty in
2021. Moreover, the Business Plan considers that with the expansion of the
drilling campaign to new areas, production shall reach 20 Mty.
MPX Colombia's port ("MPX Port"), to be built in an area of 521 hectares,
located at approximately 150 km from the mines, shall start operations in
the end of 2013, thus covering coal production volumes expected from 2014
on. Until then, MPX Colombia should be able to supply its power plants in
Brazil and Chile by exporting its production through an existing port in
Santa Marta or Ciénaga, for which negotiations are already underway.
Planned logistics for mine-to-port transportation foresee two stages. The
first one, in which coal will be trucked coal from the mines to the MPX
Port, will accommodate up to 7 Mty in 2015. From 2016 on, mine-to-port
transportation shall be carried out through a private railway, allowing
maximum output capacity to reach 20 Mty.
The aforementioned timeline already accounts for the expected time needed
for environmental licensing, granting of concessions, rights of way and
expropriations, if necessary.
The chart shows the planned production ramp-up of MPX Colombia's mining
projects and also indicates start-up dates for logistics solutions.
To this date, 4 areas have been covered in the drilling campaign. MPX
Colombia has identified a total of 1.74 billion tons of potential coal
resources in such areas. MPX concessions total 66,225 ha, along 25 km of
the coal bearing Cerrejon Formation, according to the report by John T.
Boyd Company. In Mar/2010, John T. Boyd certified 144 million tons of
reserves and resources with potential for open-cast mining. Additionally,
MPX Colombia's geologists have identified 1.6 billion tons of potential
coal resources for underground mining in the San Juan area.
Mar/2010
RESOURCES IN SITU BY AREA Mt Type
------------ ------------------
Cañaverales 93.8 Measured/Indicated
------------ ------------------
San Benito 21.9 Measured
------------ ------------------
Papayal 28.2 Measured
------------ ------------------
TOTAL 143.9
------------ ------------------
San Juan 1,600 Potential
------------ ------------------
RESERVES IN SITU BY AREA Mar/2010 (Mt)
--------------
Cañaverales 27.4
--------------
San Benito -
--------------
Papayal 11.7
--------------
Total (Certificated by John T. Boyd) 39.1
Contingent Reserves* 16.7
TOTAL 55.8
--------------
(*) Considering the expansion of the Northen and Eastern mining
limits of Cañaverales and Papayal.
The Business Plan as developed, uniting world-class mining assets to
efficient logistics solutions, ensures a unique regional integration for
MPX Colombia's system, encompassing the Colombian, Brazilian and Chilean
markets. The system, as conceived, secures export capacity to MPX Colombia
and allows it to capture gains of scale, with resulting increased returns.
The full version of the Business Plan can be downloaded from MPX's website
(
http://ri.mpx.com.br).
On March 16, MPX will host a conference call to discuss the Business Plan
for MPX Colombia.
Conference Call (to be held in Portuguese with simultaneous translation to
English)
March 16, 2010
1:00 PM (Brasília) / 12:00 PM (US EDT)
Participants calling from Brazil: + 55 11 4688-6361
Participants calling from US: + 1 888-700-0802
Participants calling from other countries: + 1 786-924-6977
Password: MPX
The presentation and the webcast access link will be available at MPX's
website
(
http://ri.mpx.com.br).
Rio de Janeiro, March 15, 2010.
Eduardo Karrer
CEO and IR Officer
Contact Information: Investor Relations:
Flavia Heller
+55 21 2555-4244
Daniel Haddad
+ 55 21 2555-4015
Maurício Tabet
+55 21 2555-4241
ri.mpx@mpx.com.br
www.mpx.com.br/ri
Press:
Roberto Gonzales
+55 21 2555-4695
+55 21 8011-0101