Company chairman and chief executive officer Jack Hanks confirmed that officials had spent the last several weeks in Colombia and Peru to explore new opportunities in coal and other mining types.

“In Colombia, we are progressing in defining the resources of our first mining venture in metallurgical coal, we are exploring another metallurgical mining opportunity and we are also continuing to review several opportunities in the infrastructure sector for consolidating and exporting coal and coke production,” he said.

In Peru, the company is reviewing opportunities in iron ore, gold, zinc and copper. The efforts, Hanks said, are MMEX’s “fairway” into the international commodity boom.

The company said the name change would give it a better standing in the international mining and investment communities.

“The new business plan is for MMEX to acquire mining assets primarily in Colombia and Peru and to migrate the listing of MMEX to the Toronto Venture Exchange, and concurrently a dual listing in the now-integrated Colombia-Peru exchanges.”

Headquartered in Dallas, the company is currently publicly traded on the OTC under MMEX.OB.

It announced its move to met coal earlier this month, when the company said its forthcoming plans would complement an option agreement to acquire a 50% interest in a mining company in the Boyac Province.

Hanks noted at the time that MMEX was also in early-stage discussions to be involved in infrastructure development opportunities, including consolidation and transportation of met coal to the Pacific and Caribbean ports of Colombia.

In December, the company exited coal in the US when it sold the Snider Ranch thermal coal property in Montana. It is currently negotiating the sale of its Carpenter Creek thermal coal assets, also in Montana, on track for a March 1 close.

MMEX still maintains its non-operating royalty and net profit interests in Montana’s Bridger-Fromberg-Bear Creek coal assets.

In the meantime, it has retained consultant Norwest to analyze the Colombian coal assets in which it has taken a 50% interest. The property is permitted and in small-scale production, and has potential high-quality met coal resources between 16 and 90 million tons.

"This transaction has several key elements for the company: first, we have joined with key local partners that have vast knowledge of this traditional metallurgical coal mining area of Colombia, which can lead us to additional asset acquisitions; second, the mine is permitted; and third, the mine is currently producing coal,” Hanks said.