JX to spend $5.4 bln on mines, oil fields -Nikkei

TOKYO, April 28 (Reuters) - Japanese oil and mining giant JX Holdings Inc (5020.T) plans to invest about 500 billion yen ($5.37 billion) over the next three fiscal years on the exploration and development of copper mines and oil fields, the Nikkei business daily reported.

The holding company was created earlier this month as part of the merger between Nippon Oil and Nippon Mining and has earmarked a total of around 1 trillion yen for investment as part of its midterm business plan, the Japanese newspaper said on Wednesday.

A spokesman for JX Holdings said the firm would not comment on its investment strategy before the announcement of its mid-term business plan on May 10 and called the Nikkei report speculation.

JX Holdings, through Nippon Oil and Nippon Mining, has stakes in several mines and oil and gas fields across the world including Chile's Caserones and Escondida copper mines and Vietnam's Rang Dong oil field.

Nippon Oil and Nippon Mining still operate as separate entities but plan to merge their businesses into three core units -- refining and sales, oil exploration, and metals -- on July 1. ($1=93.09 Yen) (Reporting by James Topham; Editing by Michael Watson)