Philippine Resources Issue 1 2012

Pusong Minero:The good miners

Philippine ResourcesMining, Petroleum & Energy Journal Issue 1 2012, February - April

Scapegoats in the blame game

Cold water on oil hopes

Honors for the five best miners

High-tech tools for boreholes

Headlines in this issue

Current Resources

Resources Viewpoint6 Pusong Minero

Resources Commentary8 My 2012 New Year wish list12 Scapegoats in the blame game16 Leaving behind a positive legacy

Mineral Resources24 Top awards for five good miners30 Coal mine contracts for auction31 Turkey cash earmarked for Acoje32 Zamboanga del Norte block on open pit ban ‘a breakthrough’33 Apex, Teresa Crew merge

Events Resources26 A win for miners facing local bans

16

24

Front cover photo shows a portable water filtration system provided

critically needed safe drinking water in Cagayan de Oro during the recent flood

disaster, after being rushed to the area by the Philippine Mine

Safety and Environment Association Pusong

Minero team. Pictured inspecting the

equipment, which can produce 30

gallons of drinking water per minute, are

(from left) Bam Bam Villanueva (left) of the Mines and Geosciences

Bureau Region 10’s mining environment and safety

division, PMSEA director Roger Casido), PMSEA president Louie

Sarmiento, and Holcim Philippines’ Christopher Ramos and Jason Niza.

Oil and Gas Resources27 BHP deal and Galoc keeping Otto busy28 Shell pours more cold water on Palawan oil and gas hopes28 Gas2Grid hits a hitch with Malolos well

Energy Resources34 RE proponents see rough year ahead38 Meralco eyes another power plant

Supply Resources40 Modular plants save time, money42 Debut for hi-tech borehole televiewer44 Looking after the community

4 Philippine Resources

February - April 2012www.philippine-resources.com

Pusong Minero” in Tagalog trans-lates as “Heart of the Miner” or “Miners with Heart” in colloquial

English. It’s the name of a promotional documentary presentation that was pre-viewed at the Philippine Mine Safety and Environment Association annual awards night dinner in Baguio last November. It was an attempt to show people what good miners are doing as unsung heroes, and to partially counter the negative pub-licity that has clouded the industry over the past year. It included photos and film clips of miners who volunteered to help in disasters such as the earthquake that devastated Baguio City in 1990, another collapsed building in Quezon province, floods, landslides and other disasters. They went in to help because they had the skills, training and the experience re-quired in dealing with such difficult and dangerous situations. The “Pusong Minero” presentation was greeted with applause by guests at the safety and environment awards night. On a personal note, it took me

back to Baguio in 1990, when I witnessed the earthquake devastation first-hand as part of a relief mission ferrying medical supplies and food up the mountain from La Union. In the small hotel where I as billeted, a group of mud-covered and tired men – mine workers it turned out – came in one evening. They cleaned up and came to the bar for a drink, and I now recall one of them telling me how they had been searching the rubble of collapsed buildings. I had forgotten all about the incident until now and I don’t recall his name or the name of his company, but they were there as volunteers because they knew what to do and wanted to help. Ironically and sadly, the preview-ing of “Pusong Minero” was prescient. Just weeks later, very heavy rain from Typhoon Sendong triggered massive flash floods that tore through the cities of Iligan and Cagayan de Oro, leaving more than 1,200 people dead, many oth-ers missing and hundreds of thousands of people homeless. Pusong Minero suddenly became more than a documentary presentation. Mining companies and organizations, with the Philippine Mine Safety and Environment Association took on lead role, galvanized into action sending ex-pert manpower, equipment and supplies to Iligan and Cagayan de Oro and the surrounding stricken areas. The mining companies were too many to list here but they were there, some of them publicly acclaimed and others quietly working away from the headlines. Others also rushed to help and are still helping, but the Pusong Minero effort was a standout and even the anti-miners must have been impressed. Then, almost before the Iligan/Cagayan de Oro flood waters had sub-sided, more heavy rain in Mindanao brought an unstable hillside crashing down on top of a village in Pantukan, Compostela Valley, killing dozens with more still missing and presumed dead under the mud and debris – in a tragic re-play of the Compostela Valley landslide a year earlier. Again, the Pusong Minero teams went into action. But sadly, the more fervent among

Philippine Resources Journalis published independently forexecutives in Philippine mining,

petroleum and energy andassociated business sectors.

PublisherElizabeth GaluraCharismatic (WA) Pty Limited

Consulting PublisherGreg Brimble

EditorSimon Halley

Sales ManagerCora A. Laureano

Design/ProductionEdrick Bruel

ContributorsMars BuanPatricia A.O. BunyeFernando Penarroyo___

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Digital online editionwww.Philippine-Resources.com

Resources Viewpoint

PhilippineResources

Mining, Petroleum& Energy Journal

Issue 1 2012February - April 2012

Pusong Minero

Continued on page 42 >

Heroic miners’ efforts to help people in trouble were revisited for Philippine Resources Journal sales manager Cora A. Laureano, on a trip to Washington DC. She went to a multimedia exhibition called “Against all odds: Rescue at the Chilean mine” at the National Museum of Natural History, centering on the rescue in October 2010 of 33 miners trapped for more than two months after a partial collapse of the San José Mine in Chile.



Since the beginning of every year is the time for best wishes and resolutions, I find it opportune to

make my 12 wishes for 2012 for the Phil-ippine resources sector. 1. Congress does not pass a new mining law. The Philippine Mining Act of 1995 went through a thorough vetting process. Two sets of Implementing Rules and Regulations were passed by the De-partment of Environment and Natural Resources, the last of them shepherded by one of the staunchest opponents of mining who used to be DENR undersec-retary and is now with the academe. Even the law’s provisions on Fi-nancial and Technical Assistance Agree-ments allowing full foreign ownership of mining projects were challenged in the Supreme Court by anti-mining lob-byist and environmental groups, only to

be declared constitutional. The law may have its flaws but to replace it at this point is similar to the adage “changing horses midstream.” 2. There is an expeditious resolu-tion on the legal standing of local gov-ernment units to ban resources projects in their jurisdiction. Whether it is the courts or some gov-ernment agency that will make the final determination, there should be an early resolution of this issue, which is holding up a lot of resources investments. 3. At least one of the Financial and Technical Assistance Agreement FTAA mining projects goes on stream. We are nearing two decades since the Philippine government awarded the first two agreements in mid-1990s. Up to now, there is still no certainty if the Di-dipio or the Tampakan project will pro-ceed because of local opposition and the lack of political will by the national

government. The industry needs to showcase a large-scale, foreign-owned mining project to boost investments. 4. The De-partment of Envi-ronment and Nat-ural Resources and the Department of Energy get their acts together in the administration of energy laws. The energy department has the mandate over energy resources but most of these projects are lo-cated in protected areas or areas covered by other land use agree-ments like mining or logging conces-sions under the jurisdiction of the

environment department. The hapless contractor is thus left with an energy service contract but is prevented from accessing its area. The two agencies should review procedures for permitting and con-sult private industry in setting up time frames for obtaining licenses and permits. It has been reported that the two departments have executed an agreement to create a technical working group to address the chal-lenges impeding coal development projects. This is a good start, but I want to see if anything concrete will come out of this. 5. The National Commission on Indigenous Peoples (NCIP) truly rep-resents the interests of indigenous cultural communities. Speaking of a government agency that needs to get its act together, the NCIP in my experience as a lawyer in private practice and a resource devel-oper, is an enigma. With all due re-spect, I cannot fathom how rules and judgments are promulgated. Nevertheless, I give the officials the benefit of the doubt; the NCIP is a relatively young administrative agency with enormous quasi-legislative and quasi-judicial powers. At the end of the day, the NCIP must be accountable only to the indigenous cultural com-munities and not to any interest group, politician or resource developer. 6. Petroleum in commercial quan-tity is found in sedimentary basins oth-er than Northwest Palawan. Experts are unanimous in their opin-ion that the Philippines’ potential for oil and gas has not been really investigated despite the fact that we have sedimentary basins located near the petroleum-rich territories of Indonesia, Malaysia and China. Most of the prospective sites are located in Northwest Palawan. The up-stream petroleum industry needs a shot in the arm. While the country can benefit from the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, which can increase

My 2012 New Year wish listBy Fernando Penarroyo

Fernando “Ronnie” Penarroyo is the managing partner of Puno and Penarroyo Law Offices (www.punopenalaw.com). He specializes in energy and resources law, project finance and business development.


Resources Commentary




the areas that the Philippines can claim as its own for exploration by a factor of 20, the territorial dispute with China seems to have added political uncertain-ty to offshore exploration particularly in the South China Sea. Meanwhile, explora-tion in the Sulu Sea basin near Sabah has been disappointing so far notwithstanding the massive risk capital poured in by ExxonMobil. And to further spur petroleum ex-ploration, the g o v e r n m e n t should be-gin initiatives to revive the Trans-ASEAN Gas Pipeline Project, which aims to connect the natural gas fields in the region to the major mar-kets. With the proposed infrastructure, several marginal fields can be put on-stream if provisions for the pipeline as a “common carrier” can be included in the project package. 7. Congress promulgates a new law that sets the parameters for an “energy project of national significance.” Energy projects are unduly delayed because of non-aligned and non-harmonized laws and legal roadblocks from local government units, indigenous people and some interest groups whose opposition to these projects are often based on misinformation. The Department of Energy’s initiative in push-ing for a law that will recognize projects of national significance announced by Secre-tary Jose Rene Almendras during the 2011 Energy Investment Forum is a welcome development, as a number of projects such as transmission lines and coal power plants cannot move forward because of problems with local government units. 8. Congress reviews existing energy exploration laws. The petroleum and coal exploration laws were martial law babies enacted dur-

ing the 1970s. To give an added impetus to high-risk and high-capital energy explora-tion, the government should revisit these laws and, among others, provide more in-centives for deep-water petroleum explora-tion and mine-mouth coal power projects. 9. The government implements feed-in-tariff rates and guidelines for renewable portfolio standards for re-newable energy. Investors are waiting

for these and unfortunately their pa-tience doesn’t last forever. The Philippines passed its RE Law before Malaysia but that country has started implementing feed-in tariff rates ahead of us. Whatever the outcome is, government should implement the feed-in tariff rates and let renewable energy investors decide if the rates are acceptable to them. 10. The DOE spearhead implemen-tation of a geothermal resource re-porting code and develop a publicly available database. I am very bullish on geothermal energy since the country is blessed with this renewable energy resource. New geothermal exploration com-panies have heeded the call of govern-ment by taking up exploration acreage. In time these companies will be culling investments locally through initial public offerings or private equity placements. For the protection of the investing pub-lic, there is thus a need for standardized reporting by these exploration compa-nies similar to the Philippine Mineral Reporting Code. Protocols and tools for

resource assessment will help also in de-veloping technical expertise. 11. Critical collaboration grows between civil society organizations and the resources industry. We cannot discount the role of civ-il society in the resources industry. In the renewable energy sector, the World Wildlife Fund has initiated a program called the “Ring of Fire” to unleash the

potential of geo-thermal energy in Southeast Asia, particularly in the Philippines and Indonesia. WWF hopes the pro-gram will show it is possible to achieve the use of geothermal en-ergy in a sustain-able way, conserv-ing biodiversity, and at the same time supporting

innovation and green economic growth, countering climate change and improving the living conditions of targeted communi-ties. Now if only this can be replicated in other resource sectors. 12. Public-private partnership grows in the field of research, devel-opment and demonstration for new technologies in resource exploration. With the Filipinos propensity to easily adapt to new technologies, their good command of the English language, and the enormous resources potential of the country, the Philippines can be a hub for geoscientific research. What we need is private investment in the establish-ment of research institutions and more data acquisition stimulated by financial incentives by the government and hope-fully grants from development agencies. I conclude by quoting a New Year aphorism by Bill Vaughan, an American columnist and author: “An optimist stays up until midnight to see the new year in. A pessimist stays up to make sure the old year leaves.” I fervently hope the resources sector will remain optimistic despite all the challenges besetting it. ■

Optimism despite the challenges< Continued from page 8

Experts are unanimous in their opin-ion that the Philippines’ potential for oil and gas has not been really in-vestigated despite the fact that we have sedimentary basins located near the petroleum-rich territories of Indonesia, Malaysia and China.



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In December 2011, Typhoon Sendong ravaged Mindanao, particularly the cit-ies of Iligan and Cagayan de Oro, leav-

ing more than 1,200 people dead and count-less others still missing. Barely a month later, a landslide took dozens of lives with many more missing under the mud and de-bris in Pantukan, Compostela Valley. Activist groups quickly and loudly blamed mining as the cause for both trag-edies, contending that without mining the disasters would not have happened. Kilu-sang Mayo Uno’s chairperson said of Ty-phoon Sendong: “It is now clear that the destruction of the environment due to wan-ton mining and logging caused the flash-floods that killed more than a thousand of our fellow Filipinos and washed away entire communities,” and that “in the inter-est of the Filipino workers and people, the Supreme Court should act swiftly to stop the implementation of (mining) laws and to junk them immediately. Large-scale corporate mining and logging should be banned completely.” Ifugao Representative Teddy Brawner Baguilat weighed in, urging that new forest conservation and alternative mining leg-islation be passed “to prevent a repeat of the Sendong devastation in Mindanao and other areas of the country.”

The fact is, as the Chamber of Mines of the Philippines pointed out and the gov-ernment Mines and Geosciences Bureau confirmed, there are no large-scale mining operations in Cagayan de Oro and Iligan. In the case of the Pantukan disaster, activists tried to link the landslide to the activities of large-scale miners. However, it transpires the local government units and residents were warned as early as April 2010 that the area was a geo-hazard and were advised to evacuate. On this score, the Secretary of the Department of Interior and Local Government has called for a probe into the failure of local government officials, par-ticularly the mayor of Pantukan town and the barangay chairman of Napnapan, to stop ille-gal mining activities there. Legally, while the Department of Jus-tice, in its Opinion No. 29, Series of 2011, has confirmed that Republic Act No. 7076, otherwise known as the “People’s Small-Scale Mining Act of 1991” (RA 7076), com-pletely repealed Presidential Decree No. 1899 (“Establishing Small-Scale Mining as a New Dimension in Mineral Development”) [PD 1899], but it qualified this by adding that individuals remain entitled to pursue small-scale mining, and that small-scale mining is not limited to qualified coop-eratives only (cf. Defining the Small-Scale Mining Rules, Philippine Resources, Issue 3 2011, August-October online edition). It must be noted that PD 1899 was not expressly repealed by RA 7076. Section 28 of RA 7076, however, contained a repealing clause that provided that all laws, decrees, letters of instruction, executive orders, rules and regulations, and other issuances, or parts thereof, which are in conflict or inconsistent with it, are accordingly repealed or modified. Considering, as the Department of Justice itself pointed out in the foregoing opinion, implied repeals are not favored, and the urgency of transferring the respon-sibility of regulating small-scale mining from local government units to the national government, particularly to the DENR, the Chamber of Mines has repeatedly called for the express repeal of PD 1899 and has formally recommended this to the Minerals Policy Group created by the president to develop a comprehensive national mining policy.

It is easy for anti-mining groups to point fingers at the mining industry, par-ticularly large-scale mining operations, as the culprit behind environmental disas-ters. They purposely overlook the fact that large-scale mining in the Philippines, sur-face or underground, is heavily and strictly regulated by a myriad laws and regulations, including but not limited to: Republic Act Nos. 7942 (Philippine Mining Act); 8749 (Philippine Clean Air Act); 9003 (Ecologi-cal Solid Waste Management Act); 6969 (7586, [National Integrated Protected Area System (NIPAS) Act]. The Philippine Mining Act and its Implementing Rules and Regulations, as consolidated in DENR Administrative Or-der 2010-21, are underpinned by the policy that mining activities attendant to permits, agreements and leases shall be managed in a technically, financially, socially, culturally and environmentally responsible manner to promote the general welfare of the coun-try and the sustainable development objec-tives and responsibilities as provided for in these implementing rules and regulations. In view of this, the following are re-quired of mining operations whose permits are granted under the Mining Act: 1. Maintenance of sustainable envi-ronmental conditions at all stages of the mining operation: During every stage of operation, as well as after the termination stage, all open pit work areas, underground workplaces, mine waste and tailings im-poundment systems, quarry sites and other mining-disturbed landforms, includ-ing those disturbed during exploration, must be progressively rehabilitated to a condition prescribed in the Envi-ronmental Clearance Certificate (ECC) and/or Environmental Protection and Enhancement Program (EPEP). a. An ECC is required based on an environmental impact assessment and procedures under the Philippine Envi-ronmental Impact Assessment System, including Sections 26 and 27 of the Local Government Code of 1991, which require national agencies to maintain ecological balance, and prior consultation with the local government units, nongovernmental

By Patricia A. O. Bunye

Patricia A. O. Bunye is a senior partner at Villaraza Cruz Marcelo & Angangco (website www.cvclaw.com). Her areas of specialization are mining and natural resources, power and energy and intellectual property (particularly IP commercialization). She may be reached at [email protected].


Scapegoats in the blame game



Austhai FP


and people’s organizations and other con-cerned sectors of the community. b. The EPEP must provide a descrip-tion of the expected and considered accept-able impacts and sets out the life-of-mine environmental protection and enhance-ment strategies based on best practice in environmental management in mining. It includes a statement on post-mining land use potential for various types of disturbed land (i.e. pits, waste dumps, tailings-im-pounding structures and infrastructure sites) and extends to completion of the commitments in the rehabilitation of the disturbed land in a technically, socially and environmentally competent manner. More importantly, the program must include im-plementation schedules, system of environ-mental compliance guarantees, monitoring, reporting and cost provisions. 2. Establishment of a functional post-disturbance land use capability: Mine site decommissioning and rehabilitation must aim to establish a land use capability that is functional and proximate to the land use prior to the disturbance of the mine area, unless other more beneficial land uses are predetermined and agreed in partnership with local communities and local government units. Requirements for mining operations whose permits are granted under the Min-ing Act also include preservation of down-stream freshwater quality; preservation of sea water quality and natural habitats for marine life; prevention of air and noise pol-lution; and respect for the traditional and/or sustainable management strategies con-cerning natural resources of indigenous cul-tural communities and other communities. Additionally, an environmental work permit is required for exploration per-mits, mineral agreements, and financial or technical assistance agreements which un-dertake exploration activities. This details the environmental impact control and re-habilitation activities proposed during the exploration period, including the costs, to enable sufficient financial resources to be allocated to meet environmental and reha-bilitation commitments. A final mine rehabilitation/decom-

missioning plan (FMR/DP), including the corresponding cost estimates, is integrated with the EPEP. The cost estimates cover the full extent of work necessary to achieve the objectives of mine closure including decommissioning, rehabilitation, mainte-nance and monitoring and employees and other social costs, including residual care, if necessary, over a 10-year period. A Final Mine Rehabilitation and Decommission-ing Fund (FMRDF) must be established by each operating contractor/permit holder to ensure that the full cost of the approved FMR/DP is accrued before the end of the operating life of the mine. The FMRDF must be deposited as a trust fund in a government depository bank and must be used solely for the implementation of the approved FMR/DP. To effectively implement the ap-proved EPEP, an Annual Environmental Protection an Enhancement Program (AE-PEP) must be submitted to the Mining and Geosciences Bureau every year, and this program must be implemented during the year for which it is submitted. This includes exploration, development, utilization, reha-bilitation, regeneration, revegetation and reforestation of mineralized areas, slope stabilization of mined-out areas, waste dumps (acid mine drainage control), tail-ings-covered areas, aquaculture, watershed development and water conservation and socioeconomic development. A multipartite monitoring team moni-tors the activities in each EPEP and AEPEP. This includes representatives from the Mining and Geosciences Bureau regional office, DENR regional office, Environmen-tal Management Bureau, the contractor/permit holder, the affected communities, the affected indigenous cultural communi-ties, if any, and an environmental nongov-ernment organization. Further, contractors and permit hold-ers must incorporate in their mine orga-nization a mine environmental protection and enhancement office which sets the lev-el of priorities and marshals the resourc-es needed to implement environmental management programs. Given all these requirements, it’s clear that large-scale mining companies must go through the eye of a needle. With this level

of regulation, probable disasters would have been addressed by the proper mitiga-tion measures. The DENR and the agen-cies under it – the Mining and Geosciences Bureau, Environmental Management Bu-reau and Pollution Adjudication Board – regulate the mining industry because of their technical capability to deal with the various environmental and safety concerns involved in mining operations. Thus, it is imperative that even small-scale mining be placed under these agencies that have this specialized experience and expertise. Ironically, the very same mining in-dustry that is demonized by critics for al-leged culpability in natural disasters is at the forefront of rescue and relief efforts in such tragedies. The Philippine Mine Safety and En-vironment Association (PMSEA) has been very active in providing relief to the victims of Typhoon Sendong. In addition to distrib-uting relief goods, PMSEA dispatched its water filtration unit to provide safe drink-ing water. Sagittarius Mines set up a relief operations center at the DENR com-pound with the assistance of the Mining and Geosciences Bureau’s regional office and Holcim Philippines. PMSEA along with Apex Mining, Philex Mining, St Agustine and Nadecor deployed teams to assist in the search and rescue operations after the land-slide in Compostela Valley. This history of miners turning out to help in times of need goes back a long way. In the 1990 Baguio City earthquake, miners from Philex were responsible for rescuing former senatorial candidate Sonia Roco from the rubble of the Hotel Nevada where she was attending a conference. Miners led by PMSEA went to Real, Quezon province, to help rescue victims trapped in the col-lapse of a building during a storm in 2004. There remain unscrupulous mining companies which are unregulated or which defy government regulations, but the major-ity of mining companies strive to comply not only with Philippine laws and regulations, but also international best practices. It is a disservice to include in the blame game these responsible companies driving economic growth and providing livelihood to commu-nities throughout the Philippines. ■

Scapegoats in the blame game< Continued from page 12




The Philippine mining sector has become an object of constant criticism. The anti-mining line

from different sectors such as the Catho-lic Church, nongovernment organiza-tions, leftists groups, communist rebels and even local government units, paints a grim image of the industry – that of being an environmental despoiler and plunderer of resources. Aside from sup-posed environmental degradation, other issues that have cast the industry in a bad light are community health concerns

as well as widely publicized insolvency cases that appear to have circumvented sig-nificant liabilities of some mining companies. The stigma attached to Philippine mining and the generalizations that min-ing activities are unsustainable, however, are very simplistic and quite inaccurate. Little has been said about how the global mining industry has changed dramati-cally over the past 20 years alongside the growing global concern for the environ-ment. Similarly, more needs to be said about the significant socio-economic

contributions of mining to host commu-nities and different countries worldwide. Recognizing both the importance of the minerals industry and the concerns about mining activities, government regula-tions and industry practices have adopted the concept of responsible and sustainable mining; one that is technically appropriate, environmentally sound, financially profit-able and socially responsible. Global efforts to improve sustain-able development performance in the mining and metals industry led to the creation of the International Council on Mining and Metals in 2001. Today, 21

of the world’s leading mining and metals companies are members of the ICCM and have committed to implement the ICMM Sustainable Development Framework. In the Philippines, ICMM member compa-nies are Sumitomo Mining, Xstrata, BHP Billiton, Anglo American and Anglo Gold. The Sustainable Development Framework binds ICM members to: •Implementandmaintaineth-ical business practices and sound systems of corporate governance; • Integrate sustainable devel-opment considerations within the corporate decision-making process; • Uphold fundamental humanrights and respect cultures, cus-toms and values in dealings with

employees and others who are af-fected by our activities; • Implement riskmanagementstrategies based on valid data and sound science; • Seek continual improvement ofour health and safety performance; • Seek continual improvement ofour environmental performance; •Contributetoconservationofbio-diversity and integrated approaches to land use planning; •Facilitateandencourageresponsi-ble product design, use, re-use, recycling and disposal of our products; •Contributetothesocial,economicand institutional development of the communities in which we operate Among the five stages of mining — exploration, evaluation, development, mining and closure — mine closure and rehabilitation have shown the greatest change over the past two decades. Pre-viously treated as merely a last-minute tidy-up of a site to relinquish bonds, mine closure and rehabilitation are now integral parts of mine feasibility studies as well as an ongoing component of the mine during operation. Rehabilitation – the process of re-pairing the impacts of mining on the community – may entail converting an area to a safe and stable condition or even restoring the pre-mining conditions as closely as possible to support the fu-ture sustainability of the site. The idea of sustainable and respon-sible mining, specifically rehabilitating old mine sites into new communities, remains a ludicrous notion to many in the Philippines. While these efforts have been consistently overshadowed by pub-licized and one-sided anti-mining pro-nouncements, a number of large foreign mining companies operating in the coun-try have actually been working within the framework of sustainable mining and have brought in technology and for-eign capital as well as served as engines of growth and development in different communities all around the world. It’s worth taking a look at what they are do-

Leaving behind a positive legacyBy Dorcas Ho and Orenz Nito


For 50 years, Murdochville was a massive, unsightly copper mining and metallurgical operation. Today, post-mining rehabilitation by Xstrata has transformed it into a provincial, well-run community popular with tourists for its skiing and other snow sports during the winter months, lake sports, a golf course and its long scenic line of wind turbines running long the crest overlooking the former mine-site.

Dorcas Ho and Orenz Nito are business intelligence research analysts with Pa-cific Strategies and Assessments (www.psagroup.com), based in Manila.




ing, in terms of leaving a positive legacy when the mining is over. One good example is in Quebec, Canada, where the Murdochville copper mine and metallurgical plant were com-pletely shut down in 2002 after almost 50 years of operation. Then came three years of study and detailed engineering of the final closure and reclamation plan which involved extensive consultation with the local community and multiple assess-ments and approvals by the provincial gov-ernment, including the Ministry of the En-vironment, Ministry of Natural Resources and public health authorities. With the main goal of converting the mine site to its pre-mining condition as well as enabling local stakeholders to pursue new opportunities for develop-ment, a five-year US$118 million closure and reclamation program was approved in 2006. Local employees and contrac-tors were trained and hired to carry out the closure and reclamation activities which included demolishing surface fa-cilities, excavating and remediating soils, re-vegetating tailing sites, reconfiguring surface-water flows and reinforcing water management infrastructure, collecting and recycling equipment, waste rock and contaminated soil safety disposal, removing electrical transmission lines, demolishing pipe-lines and re-profiling the site. During the entire process, numer-ous measures were undertaken to pro-tect the environment and ensure the health and safety of workers, including safety and personal protection training and equipment, regular air quality sam-pling and biological monitoring. In line with the goal of achieving sustainable development, employee as-sistance such as early retirement pack-ages, retraining and support in finding alternate employment were provided. As part of the local economic development program, land and service buildings were transferred to the town of Murdochville for the creation of an industrial park. Even after its closure, the Murdochville site is su-pervised on a full-time basis by an Xstrata

employee responsible for monitoring the ongoing success of the reclamation activi-ties including inspecting the water manage-ment infrastructure and ensuring equip-ment is operating properly. In 2011, Xstrata received the Shrey-er Award for its responsible reha-bilitation and ethical awareness at its Murdochville project. Another example is in Western Cape, South Africa. Considered a para-gon for sustainable development in the mining industry, the Chemfos reha-bilitation project of BHP Billiton – the world’s largest mining company – is among the best models of mining re-habilitation in the world. The Chemfos phosphate operation there was an open cast mine that oper-ated for about 50 years before decom-missioning, closure and rehabilitation started. The rehabilitation program undertook a holistic approach which involved environmental, social, commer-cial and capacity building initiatives. In the process, local people were closely consulted and involved in the rede-velopment plan. Former mine em-ployees together with the local com-munity from the mine village were employed and trained to assist in the rehabilitation project. The old mining village, now known as the Green Village, has been re-vegetat-ed with wide variety of indigenous plant species and has been redeveloped with public housing, a school, church, health clinic and recreation facilities. Power and water supplies and other essential infrastructure have also been upgraded. These newly built assets including 50 hectares of land were transferred to the newly formed Village Management Com-pany consisting of residents as well as representatives of the mining company. Aside from the Green Village, the Fossil Park, a world-class ecotourism, research and education facility, was also estab-lished. Residents who suffered trauma with the closure of the mine were either employed within the new park or re-ceived small-business support. Thus, the rehabilitation of the mine site and the es-tablishment of a Fossil Park provided a

post-mining socio-economic benefit that transformed the village into a viable self-governing community. For its Chemfos project, BHP Bil-liton won four national awards in 2002 from the South African Landscapers In-stitute – the overall Gold Award of Excel-lence, Best Landscaping Project for the Fossil Park, and the Rand Water Trophy for rehabilitation excellence. The judges particularly lauded BHP Billiton for its “highly innovative and excellently docu-mented” vegetative rehabilitation project at the Chemfos mine, and also noted that the project “encouraged a high level of community involvement in terms of economic empowerment, education and skills training and long term involvement.” Successful mine site rehabilitation and its significant contributions to the community clearly demonstrate sustain-able practices in the mining industry. The clamor for environmental protec-tion, desire for reduced human health risks and a new consciousness about the use of land and resources have led to marked improvements in regulatory requirements and mining practices. In-creasingly, the ability to develop a new project becomes tied to the company’s reputation, and post-mining rehabili-tation becomes its permanent legacy. With this, mining companies have be-come more persistent in improving their practices. Many international mining com-panies have gone to great lengths to integrate sustainable development to complete the full cycle of mining in ar-eas across the globe. More governments, multinational development agencies and financial institutions, as well as national and international mining associations, are enjoining mining companies to integrate mine closure planning as early as the con-struction stage and operation of the site, with innovative use of advanced technol-ogy in rehabilitating old mine sites. In the Philippines, several inter-national mining companies operating or planning to operate in the country

Leaving behind a positive legacy


< Continued from page 16



have proven track records of strong en-vironmental performance standards. These companies are also recognized internationally for their rehabilita-tion and closure of mining projects as seen in their sustainable mining practices across nations. The Tampakan copper-gold project of Xstrata in South Cotabato recently received its fourth Presidential Mining Industry and Environmental Award. The award is the highest Philippine award given to a mining company that has dis-played leading practices in sustainable development and responsible minerals development. Meanwhile, the Dow Jones Sustainability Index Review in 2011 named Xstrata as the global mining sector leader for the fifth consecutive year and super sector leader for basic resources industries. Elsewhere, Gold Fields received the Sekondi-Takaoradi Regional Chamber of Commerce and Industry’s award in Gha-na in 2011 for the company’s outstanding corporate social responsibility in helping accelerate socio-economic development in Ghana. In the Philippines, Gold Fields is partnering with Lepanto Consolidated Mining to operate the Far Southeast Project in Benguet Province. While illegal mining activities have resulted in problems, particularly en-vironmental degradation, responsible mining can bring palpable and concrete socio-economic developments in host communities that go beyond care for the environment. Philippine local commu-nities have benefited from roads, water and power infrastructure, educational and health facilities, training and employment provided by mining companies. In the case of the Tampakan project, for instance, US$3 million was invested in 2010 alone on local health services, training, educational, livelihood and en-terprise development programs. Anoth-er $1.5 million was earmarked to fund infrastructure development, including potable water systems, health facilities, classrooms, village halls and roads. Similarly, the Canadian mining

firm TVI Pacific’s Canatuan copper mine in Zambo-anga del Norte has constructed school buildings, day-care centers, health centers, community water systems, power lines and roads for the local com-munity, alongside the provision of community liveli-hood and capac-ity building pro-grams. TVI also built a $3.3 million world-class dam that received both international and Philip-pine government recognition for its ad-herence to international environmental guidelines and good corporate citizen-ship. TVI was particularly lauded for contributing to economic growth, creat-ing social equity and participating in en-vironmental protection and sustainable development. Unfortunately, these contributions to community development and efforts of sustainable mining are undermined in the Philippines by a limited understand-ing of mining. Local ordinances banning open pit mining issued separately by the provincial governments of South Cotabato and Zamboanga del Norte threaten the future operation of the Tampakan and Canatuan projects. Needless to say, they also threaten other related businesses working with the mining companies in the lo-cality, providing transportation, of-fice and food supplies and logistical requirements. Currently, there are at least 13 local ordinances banning mining, the majority of which were passed at the provincial level and prohibit large-scale mining. While anti-mining groups have shifted the battle to political lobbying and public relations campaigns, there is, however, no concerted pro-mining voice — outside mining sector interest groups — designed to extol the virtues

of responsible mining, which leaves the debate very one-sided and implies that pro-mining groups have no response to the negative allegations lodged against them. As support for mining opposition snowballs, the Philippines runs the risk of losing the few foreign-invested min-ing companies operating in the country — companies that bring in technology and foreign capital and serve as engines of growth and development, particularly in the countryside. President Noynoy Aquino has to make a firm commitment and exert po-litical will in implementing national poli-cies, if the Philippine government is to sustain foreign mining investment. The Philippines will also forfeit socio-eco-nomic and development opportunities if it fails to foster a truly sound and du-rable foreign-invested mining industry. Improvements in infrastructure, particularly in roads, dams and power lines, are well-documented in areas where legitimate and responsible min-ing companies are operating. More-over, host communities not only ben-efit from local employment, but also receive new schools and medical facili-ties. While the cash-strapped Philip-pine government cannot realistically alleviate rural poverty and provide for community development, it has to en-sure that those capable of supporting and meeting its foreign investment re-quirements can operate efficiently. ■



The former Chemfos phosphate mine in Western Cape, South Africa, is an award-winning example of mine closure and rehabilitation. BHP Billiton turned the arid waste-land into the Green Village with innovative environmental and community development techniques.

Leaving behind a positive legacy



Mineral Resources

Top awards for five good minersF ive mining companies won the

Presidential Mineral Industry and Environmental Award for

2011 – the first time five firms have shared the limelight in receiving the prestigious award. The multiple cita-tion “manifests a very clear sign of the mineral industry’s stronger com-mitment to achieve, beyond compli-ance, the highest levels of standard in the fields of occupational safety, health, environment and social de-

velopment,” said Philippine Mine Safety and Environment Associa-tion president Louie Sarmiento at PMSEA awards night dinner. The five are FCF Minerals Runruno gold-molybdenum project, the MRL Gold Surigao-Agusan projects and Sagittarius Mines’ Tampakan copper-gold project in the exploration category, and Holcim La Union and Holcim Bulacan in the quarry category. An additional special presidential award went to Apex Mining’s Maco gold

mine in recognition of five consecutive years of operation without a fatal accident at its underground mine in Masara. Presidential Mineral Industry Awards, established through Execu-tive Order No. 399 of February 1997, recognize exemplary performance by companies in environmental manage-ment, safety and health, and social development and management pro-grams, evaluated by an eight-member selection committee drawn from the

Apex Mining’s president Peregrino Resabal (far right) and executive vice president Emelita Fabro (second from right) were presented with the Presidential Mineral Industry and Environmental Special Award for the company’s four consecutive years of operation without a fatal accident at its Maco gold mine in Masara. They received the award from Philippine Mine Safety and Environment Association president Louie Sarmiento (left) and Mines and Geosciences Bureau assistant director Elmer Billedo (second from left). Ironically, Apex Mining was also cited at the same PMSEA awards and testimonial dinner last November for the company’s role in the search, rescue and recovery operations after the landslide tragedy in Pantukan, Compostela Valley, which happened earlier last year. Now Apex experts are again at work after another similar landslide in Pantukan.



government and private sector. In other awards for 2011, safest mine awards went to TVI Resource D e v e l o p m e n t s for surface op-eration, Repub-lic Cement Bu-lacan for cement plant opera-tion, Apo Land and Quarry for quarry opera-tion, FCF Miner-als for explora-tion (category A), MRL Gold Surigao-Agusan for exploration (category B), Repub-lic Cement Norzagaray for mineral processing (cement category), TVI Resource Development for mineral processing (concentrator category), Apex Mining for mineral processing (extraction category) and Philippine

Mining Service for mineral process-ing (crushing plant category). Carmen Copper was cited for safest combined operation, Northern Cement for most improved safety per-formance and TVI Resource Develop-ment for safest mining operation. Awardees for the best mining for-

est program are Philex Mining’s Padcal opera-tions in the me-tallic category, Holcim La Union plant in the non-metallic catego-ry, MRL Gold’s Surigao-Agusan projects in the exploration cat-egory, with spe-cial awards for Apex Mining and Rio Tuba Nickel Mining for best nursery and best reha-

bilitation strategy respectively. PMSEA’s Pasasalamat Award was conferred upon former Mines and Geosciences Bureau director and De-partment of Environment and Natural Resources undersecretary Jerry Do-lino for his contributions to uplifting the Philippine mining industry. ■

Mineral Resources

TVI Resource Development, represented by its president Eugene Mateo (second from right) and chief operating officer John Ridsdel (far right), won the award for the safest mining operation as well as safest mine awards for surface operation and mineral processing (concentrator categories). They received the awards from PMSEA president Louie Sarmiento (far left) and Mines and Geosciences Bureau director Leo Jasareno (second from left), with awards committee member Lita Lee (center) of Rapid City Realty and Development Corporation.


Philippine Resources 25

Rocky Dimaculangan (left) of the Chamber of Mines of the Philippines, Eugune Mateo (center) of TVI Resource Development and Dennis Quintero of Quisumbing Torres.

Jose Marcel Jr (left) of Johson Gold Mining, Ernesto Ciriano (center) of Citiparts and Lawrence Tumaneng of Midas Resources.

Jaime del Rosario (left) of SGV & Co., Gia Veloso (center) of Geoproject (center) and Leo Cleto Gomolo of Intex Resources.

Keynote speaker Clifford M. James, chairman, president & CEO of TVI Pacific Inc.

Michael Marasigan (left) of Information Architects with Sandy Gilles of First Metro Asset Management.

Tim Nillos (left) of Devonian Metals with Carlo Montecillo of SGS Philippines.

Mylene Sanchez (left) and Laurie Ann Malibago of ANZ Bank.

Peter Wallace (left) of Wallace Business Forum, Roy Lotzof (center) of TVI Resource Development and Gavan Collery of Indophil.

Resources Events

The dangers of facing down a looming ban on mining operations imposed by provincial authorities have been

spelled out by Clifford M. James, chairman, president & CEO of TVI Pacific Inc. Ironically, James discussed the ban in a strongly worded keynote speech to members of the Philippine Mining Club just weeks before TVI Resource Development finally won a preliminary in-junction against an ordinance that would have banned open pit mining in Zamboan-ga Del Norte, including the company’s own copper-zinc mine in Canatuan. In his speech, James defended TVI as having an outstanding record in safe min-ing, environmental protection, commu-nity involvement and responsible business practices, saying the Canatuan operation enjoyed strong support from and a good relationship with the local community. After the favorable court decision, the company issued a statement describing the injunction as “the first step towards complete victory. TVIRD is now preparing for a legal battle to prove that this ordinance is invalid and unconstitutional. We believe we are on the side of the law and we expect to win this.” Mines and Geosciences Bureau director Leo L. Jasareno greeted the injunction as “wel-come news” for the mining industry. The next Philippine Mining Club lunch is scheduled for February 10, when the key-note speaker will be Mick Wilkes, managing director and chief executive of OceanaGold which has a gold-copper project in Didipio, expected to be commissioned late this year. ■

A win for miners facing local bans

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BHP deal and Galoc keeping Otto busy

Oil & Gas Resources

BHP Billiton has sealed a deal to ac-quire a 60 percent stake in an oil prospect offshore Palawan from

Otto Energy. The giant takes over as operator of Service Contract 55, which covers 9,000 square ki-lometers in the southwest Palawan basin. The US$7.3 million deal finalizes the earlier decision by BHP Billiton to exercise its farm-in option on the block. Otto Energy’s stake falls to 33 percent from the original 85 percent. Trans-Asia Oil and Energy Develop-ment has 7 percent of the service contract. The consortium plans to dig an explo-ration well in the area by April next year. “2012 is an exciting year for Otto Ener-gy shareholders as we prepare for drilling of the Cinco prospect in service contract 55 during the second quarter,” said Otto En-ergy chief executive Gregor McNab. “More importantly, there is a depth of opportunity beyond this first well in our acreage portfo-lio that provides ongoing exploration and development potential,” McNab said.

The Cinco prospect has an estimated oil and gas potential of 7.4 million barrels of oil. Otto Energy and its partners are also eyeing another area in service contract 55, the Hawkeye prospect. Drilling costs for the Hawkeye prospect will also be shoul-dered by BHP Billiton. Overall, SC55 is estimated to have a potential of 19 trillion cubic feet of gas and 670 million barrels of oil. McNab said the area “has seen little historical offshore exploration drilling, and no deepwater offshore drilling has oc-curred to date. This is an exciting new fron-tier that has significant scale and potential sitting between proven oil and gas fields.” • Otto Energy’s Galoc Production, operator of the Galoc oil field off Palawan, anticipates a substantial rise in production there after a three-month upgrade of the floating, production, storage and off-load-ing vessel deployed in the area. “The upgrade... is expected to substan-

tially increase the reliability and uptime of the FPSO and is a crucial component of in-frastructure to enable the Galoc joint ven-ture to move ahead with a potential Phase II development program,” said a Galoc Pro-duction statement. The vessel, with a storage capacity in excess of 400,000 barrels, is being upgraded in Singapore and will return to the Philippines towards the end of the first quarter of 2012. Production at Galoc will resume after the ves-sel’s return and reconnection. The field has estimated reserves of about 10 million barrels. Galoc started producing crude oil in October 2008 at 18,000 barrels per day to become the first major field since the 1990s to come onstream in the under-explored Philippines. It suffered a number of disruptions, some of them triggered by bad weather. The field life is expected to range from two to six years from 2008, depending on the reservoir performance. ■



Shell pours more cold wateron Palawan oil and gas hopesHopes for petroleum prospects

in the northwest Palawan ba-sin area have suffered another

setback, with the pull-out of Shell Explo-ration Philippines from the group ex-ploring the Service Contract 54B block. This area, near the existing Malampaya natural gas field, includes the Pawikan oil and gas prospect currently being ex-plored amidst high hopes. The importance of Shell’s with-drawal was quickly downplayed by its partner as well as the government De-partment of Energy. “We remain optimistic on the pro-spectivity of the block especially by the potential exploration upside identified in the large Pawikan Lead to the south of the Gindara-1 location and only 10 kilometers from the producing Nido ‘A’ and ‘B’ fields,” said Nido chief executive Jocot de Dios. “The recently acquired Pawikan 2D seismic survey is designed to mature this lead to prospect status and a potential future drilling opportunity. Preliminary seismic data from the Pawikan survey is encouraging.” The DoE described the move as part of Shell’s risk management and would al-

low the company to look at more sites in the country. “Shell has expressed to the Energy Department its continued inter-est in exploration opportunities in the Philippines and will bid for new areas,” said Energy Undersecretary Jose M. Layug. “Shell is consolidating its explo-ration plans and pooling financial and technical resources for development of oil and gas in the Philippines.” The government is offering 15 oil and gas areas for exploration and development in the latest contract auction this year. Shell Philippines Exploration had a 45 percent interest in the SC54B while Nido Petroleum had a 33 percent stake. Kairiki Energy rounded out the consor-tium with a 22 percent interest. After the pullout, Nido now has a 60 percent stake and Kairiki 40 percent. The Energy Department approved the entry of Shell Philippines to SC54B in January 2011 year, paving the way for the drilling of the Gindara well with Shell contribut-ing 75 percent of the Gindara-1 exploration well and seismic costs. But the Gindara-1 well was abandoned last June, after it had been found to be water bearing – although earlier it had estimated

with a potential of two billion barrels of oil. In late 2011, the consortium finished undersea surveys of the area aimed at helping them find potential areas to drill. However, de Dios said Nido is now not in a hurry to conduct more drilling activities at the SC 54B. “Importantly, there are no drilling commitments re-quired in SC54B before the expiry of the service contract in August 2013, so the tim-ing of the drilling of a Pawikan well, should the joint venture decide on this, would be at the SC 54B partners’ discretion,” he said. • The Shell disappointment came just after Nido had announced a tie-up with Total in a joint study and bid agree-ment to jointly evaluate the oil and gas exploration acreage offered to inves-tors under new Philippine Energy Con-tracting Round 4. The pair will thus undertake techni-cal and commercial evaluations of all the 15 prospective petroleum blocks with Nido Petroleum holding a 30 percent interest in the partnership and Total 70 percent. The bidders have between April and July 2012 to submit their respective bid offers for the petroleum blocks they are eyeing. ■

Oil & Gas Resources

Promising test results have been reported at a re-exploration and work-over of an old petroleum

exploration site in Cebu, but work has encountered an unexpected hitch in the shape of an obstruction in the drill hole that dates back 50 years. The site is the Malolos-1 well being drilled by the Sydney-based company Gas2Grid on onshore Cebu about 50 ki-lometers west-southwest of Cebu City. It’s within the Service Contract 44, of which Gas2Grid holds 100 percent. Petroleum exploration wells drilled during the 1960s on surface anticlines within the area flowed natural gas to surface and/or recovered significant volumes of oil during open-hole testing.

However, there was no further evalu-ation of the discoveries until increases in the price of natural gas and electric-ity increased to the extent of justifying looking at the natural gas flow potential of the original discoveries and assess-ing their potential as a fuel supply for a natural gas fired power station. Gas2Grid believes part of the origi-nal 1960 cased-hole testing equipment became stuck in the hole and was aban-doned. The hitch came as the company identified a number of gas zones worth flow testing at Malolos-1. Cased-hole logging with a pulsed neuron tool con-firmed five sandstone reservoirs were gas-bearing and warranted cased-hole testing flow testing.

Attempts to mill out the obstruction have been unsuccessful, so testing of the deeper oil-bearing sandstone has been delayed until the arrival of a drilling rig which will be mobilized in the coming months and previously unknown exist-ing well perforations are secured. ■

Gas2Grid hits a hitch with Malolos well

This June 2011 flare showed sure signs of gas at the Malolos-1 well. Now Gas2Grid has to find out how much.



The Philippine government is of-fering 30 coal exploration proj-ects that may need total invest-

ments of up to US$600 million, in a bid to boost local supply and reduce costly fuel imports. The potential coal sites are locat-ed in the central and northern provinc-es. The Department of Energy said it has identified 30 blocks that are ready for exploration. Bids are to be submitted by end-March. The department will evaluate the bids within 90 days and exploring each block may require investment of about $20 million, it estimates. Energy undersecretary Jay Layug said each coal contract area could generate in-vestments of 80 million pesos over a four-year contract period. The development pe-riod for a coal area runs up to 20 years. He said the government is promot-ing the development of coal areas be-

cause of the country’s coal potential of up to 2.4 billion metric tonnes. The areas are mainly located in Quezon, Camarines Norte, Albay, Sor-sogon, Masbate, Occidental Mindoro, Negros Occidental, Cebu City, Agusan del Norte, Agusan del Sur, Surigao del Sur, Compostela Valley, Davao Orien-tal, Lanao del Sur, Lanao del Norte and Zamboanga Sibugay. The Philippines produced a total 7.33 million tonnes of coal in 2010, in-cluding 7.02 million tonnes from the Semirara open pit mine in Antique. Semirara, owned by conglomerate DMCI Holdings, is the country’s only large-scale coal producer. Some production comes from small-scale and medium-scale underground mining operations in the coal-rich prov-inces of Surigao, Zamboanga Sibugay, Cebu, Negros Occidental and Albay. With local output not enough to

meet domestic demand, the country last year imported a total 10.97 million tonnes of coal, including 10.6 million tonnes from Indonesia. It also bought coal last year from Australia, Vietnam, Russia and the United States. Coal for power generation current-ly accounts for 72.5 percent of the Philippines’ total coal consumption of 13.31 million tonnes. Coal is also used in cement production. ■

Mineral Resources

Coal mine contracts for auction

Much of the Philippines’ local coal comes from the massive Semirara open pit mine in Antique.



Mineral Resources

Turkey cash earmarked for AcojeNickel miner ENK is forecasting the

money it raised from the sale of its Caldag mine in Turkey will be cru-

cial in developing its flagship Acoje mine in the Philippines. ENK sold Caldag last September for US$40 million and chief executive Rob Gregory says this means management can now focus solely on getting Acoje built. “A key tenet of mining is not to dilute shareholders. By having this money we can get news out, get the work done on the fea-sibility study and work towards getting stra-tegic off-take arrangements. As we do all of that, the share price will follow,” he told the financial newsletter Proactive Investors. Deals with strategic partners are an-other key plank of the plan as Gregory says Acoje is very amenable to project finance through forward sales and off-take agree-ments. “Watch this space for forward sales with strategic partners that will use the Nickel hydroxide product and go directly to final product type arrangement without thermal processing,” he said. ENK has already made the decision to move away from a mixed hydroxide prod-uct to a singular nickel hydroxide and a sep-arate cobalt product. That has meant higher amounts paid for each product and signifi-cantly more in the case of cobalt. Another departure is the recent decision to move

away from the heap leaching pioneered by the company in its old European Nickel form and to use tank leaching instead. Natural elements played a part with the heavy rain in the Philippines not conducive to the heap process, but it was the working capital element that also swayed Gregory. Capital costs are similar, but tank leaching can get the nickel out in 12 hours as opposed to months using a heap leach-ing process. Tank leaching is also scalable, he says, without the need for everything to be built on day one. Recoveries have been impressive. Gregory says the tropical laterites it recovers at Acoje respond very well to its three-way leach process with 92 percent of the nickel and 97 percent of the cobalt being recovered. Once up and running, Acoje is expect-ed to produce 24,500 tonnes of nickel and 930 tonnes of cobalt a year. At the moment the Acoje operation has a 10-year mine life, although the company has recently com-pleted infill drilling at Acoje and is also cur-rently drilling at its neighboring Zambales chromite tenement with a view to more than doubling the mine life.For the next six months, the focus will also be on completing the feasibility study and working very closely on the financing op-

tions with the aim of accelerating construc-tion “as soon as we can”. This will also in-clude appointing a debt adviser and running a lot of things in parallel, Gregory adds. There are no regrets over Caldag. Gregory says ENK did not want to be mi-nority shareholder in the project, while Acoje was always seen as better in terms of grade, leachability, total resource and growth potential. “The only difference is that Caldag was halfway through construc-tion. All things equal we would always have gone for Acoje, “he added. “It is also very, very important that we have this cash in the bank. We won’t be spending it all on the feasibility study. We will be spending between US$6 and 10 mil-lion to complete the study, so a lot of money will be available to help us through the fi-nancing stage. And if we have to go and get some equity fund raising we will be doing at a much less dilutive level.” The one thing Gregory does not have control of is the nickel price, which has been hit by the substitution of cheap pig iron coming out of China. But while he says this puts a lid on the nickel price, the cost of laterites and high cost of sulphide also means a floor. “On current projections of long term prices we will make a very healthy mar-gin at Acoje” he said. ■



Mineral Resources

The Philippine mining sector has welcomed legal action in which the court has granted a preliminary injunction against a local government ordinance that would have

banned open pit mining in Zamboanga del Norte. The Chamber of Mines of the Philippines has expressed “great relief” at the or-der and a senior mining executive in the area called it “the break-through we’ve all been waiting for.” The chamber issued a statement saying it hopes the Zambo-anga del Norte court order will convince provincial officials of South Cotabato to reconsider their position on a similar ordinance. Referring to TVI resource Development, the chamber said the order clearly recognizes the excellent track record of TVI in protecting the environment and in advancing the interest of its host communities. The ban would have prevented TVI’s neighbor constituents from reaping the benefits of transforming minerals into wealth such as that being enjoyed by hundreds of employees and their families, as well as thousands of residents in host and impact communities of TVIRD, the chamber said.Government Mines and Geosciences Bureau director Leo L. Jasareno called the court resolution “welcome news” for the min-ing industry and “proves our position that local legislations can-not rise above national policies.” The Dipolog City Regional Trial Court ruled that TVI “held a valid contract for its Canatuan copper and zinc mine” and would suffer “grave and irreparable damage and injury” if forced to halt operations. It said the company had the right to seek an injunction as it was party to a mining agreement with the national govern-ment under a mineral production sharing agreement. If the ban were implemented, it noted, TV would have to deal with the consequences of having to prematurely pay off mil-lions of dollars worth of outstanding loans including US$6.35 mil-lion from the Metropolitan Bank and Trust Company and another $$9.68 million from the Bank of the Philippine Islands. However, TVI was also ordered to post a bond amounting to 2 million pesos “to answer for any damages which the respondents (Zamboanga governor Rolando E. Yebes et al.) may sustain” should the court ultimately decide to lift the injunction. TVI president Eugene T. Mateo issued a statement call-ing the injunction “the first step towards complete victory.” TVI is now preparing for a legal battle, he said, “to prove that this or-dinance is invalid and unconstitutional. We believe we are on the side of the law and we expect to win this.” The company has been fighting the the Zamboanga del Norte ordinance saying it was contrary to provisions in the Local Gov-ernment Code of 1991 and the Philippine Mining Act of 1995. The TVI mine in Zamboanga del Norte still has enough min-eral resources to enable the company to operate it for four more years. The company says it stood to lose about $448 million in gross revenue if the Canatuan copper-gold mine closed prema-


Zamboanga del Norte block on open pit ban ‘a breakthrough’



turely because of the ban. The annual gross revenue of the mine is about $112 million, it says, and a major portion of the revenue would have been spent on operating costs, royalties to indigenous people, and com-munity development. TVI Pacific president and chief execu-tive officer Clifford James said: “We strongly believe the powers to be assumed by the province under the or-dinance, and by the provincial governor of Zamboanga del Norte, are unconstitu-tional. While the court order allows TVI to continue its operations in Canatuan un-impeded, we will continue to relentlessly pursue ultimate relief from what we view as an unconstitutional local legislation.” Another group, the Coalition for Re-sponsible Mining in Mindanao, said the ban on open pit mining contradicts the national policy on mining as embodied in Republic Act No. 7942 or the Philippine Mining Act of 1995. “Moreover these or-dinances violate due process, equal pro-tection, and non-impairment of contract clauses of the 1987 constitution.” The group said local ordinances ban-ning open pit mining are “anti-responsible mining” as they tend to favor illegal small-

scale mining activities that often employ crude practices. “The ban imposed by lo-cal government units will not only put to risk the employment and livelihood of the mining communities but will also seriously undermine the ongoing development and good governance initiatives in these com-munities,” the statement read. The coalition said its members believe in the potential of responsible mining as an “engine of growth” in Mindanao and the rest of the country. • In Davao City, meanwhile, lo-cal lawmakers have initiated moves to declare Davao City a mining-free zone after passing a resolution on the same day that it approved a coal-fired power plant. The legislative measure seeks to ban both open pit and underground mining. The resolution, however, exempts quar-rying for limestone as well as sand and gravel, from the ban. Davao is host to Holcim Philip-pines, listed among the local government’s top 10 taxpayers in 2010, which extracts limestone for the production of cement. The lawmakers backing the Davao ban cite environmental issues including erosion, formation of sinkholes, loss of biodiversity and contamination of soil, groundwater and surface water by chemicals from mining pro-cesses, their resolution stated.

“For example, 99 tons of wastes are gen-erated per ton of copper, with even higher ratios in gold mining. These tailings can be toxic,” said city councilor Victorio U. Advin-cula, proponent of the resolution. The resolution on the mining ban, coau-thored by councilor Paolo Z. Duterte, brother of the mayor and son of Vice-Mayor Rodrigo R. Duterte, alluded to the Marcopper mining disaster in 1996 when a pit containing tailings ruptured and released 1.6 million cubic meters of toxic chemicals into Boac River in Marinduque. They also cited irresponsible min-ing as the reason for the death of three men in a landslide in Pantukan, Compos-tela Valley in April 2011. “To date, none of the mining com-panies that operate in the country have owned up responsibility, or effectively rehabilitated the devastated environ-ment,” Advincula said. • In Romblon, local law-makers have renewed their call on the Phil-ippine Senate to rally behind a pro-posed bill declaring Romblon as a “mining-free zone.” They are referring to House Bill 4815, which seeks to ban mining opera-tions and related activities in Romblon, which has been pending before the Sen-ate since August 2011. ■

Mineral Resources

The MRL Gold team was on stage three times to receive top awards at the 2011 National Mine Safety and Environment Conference awards night in Baguio. MRL won the Presidential Mineral Industry Environmental, Best Mining Forest and Safest Exploration awards.On stage for the Safest Exploration Award presentation were (from left) Quest Exploration Drilling president Ramon T. Santiago, PMEA president Louie R. Sarmiento, PMEAís Joey Nelson R. Ayson, Mining and Geosciences assistant director Elmer B. Billedo, with MRLís Edsel M. Abrasaldo, Jean Ravelo, Maya Flores Arguelles and Fernando Magno.


Apex Mining has merged with affiliate Teresa Crew Gold Philippines in a bid to achieve operational efficiencies and

improved profitability. Apex is the surviving corporation in the merger, which involves a series of share-swap deals among company stockholders including Mapula Creek Gold and Mindanao Gold. All interests, assets and properties of Teresa Crew are being transferred to Apex, which has also as-sumed all debts and liabilities of Teresa Crew. Teresa Crew, headquartered in Maco, Compostela Valley, is a company in which Apex’s former principal, Crew Gold of Britain, has divested interest. Its main business is pro-viding funding, technical services, equipment and processing plants to Apex. Apex owns and operates a 700 met-ric tonnes per day gold mine producing gold/silver ore and holds a contract for porphyry copper-gold deposits in Maco, Compostela Valley. ■

Apex, Teresa Crew merge

Awards haul for MRL



Energy Resources

Unhappiness prevails in the re-newable energy sector as 2012 gets under way. Energy devel-

opers, investors and would-be produc-ers accuse the government of stalling on power transmission, service contracts and a fed-in tariff structure, while the government is on the defensive saying it is moving as fast as it can. Mean-while, legal action by lobbyists further threatens the sector. “It’s getting ridiculous,” complained a delegate at the recent international Geothermal Energy Summit confer-ence in Manila. “Can somebody please explain what is going on in the Phil-ippines?” Similar complaints were raised at the European Chambers of Commerce of the Philippines Renew-able Energy Forum in Manila. Nobody volunteered any specific answer. The latest to weigh in on the issue has been the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines. In its latest Transmis-sion Development Plan, the NGCP says the government’s “wait-and-see” ap-proach to pending transmission invest-ments for renewable energy facilities will have adverse implications for both congestion and overall system reliability, and may push up electricity prices. The Energy Regulatory Commis-sion’s approach “does not encourage a timely implementation of investments and may lead to less optimal trans-mission solution to support incom-ing renewable energy resources,” says the NGCP. It says a piecemeal approach instead of a proactive plan would lead to imprudent invest-ments, requiring more right-of-way arrangements and longer trans-mission lines, resulting in heavy investments and increased power rates to end-users. A more efficient approach, the NGCP says, would be to have all con-nection requirements coordinated, to ensure that a transmission backbone and strategically-located substations are built to provide access, for instance to wind farm sites already identified. “This is a more prudent and economi-cally feasible approach to connect to the

system in contrast to each wind farm building its own long individual lines,” it says. What is required, the NGCP urges, is a pr-active mechanism to eliminate the “chicken-and-egg” problem in the renewable energy sector, in which gen-eration investors are not willing to build a project without adequate transmission facilities, while transmission operators will not expand transmission facilities with-out guarantees from generation investors. “NGCP cannot respond proactively if transmission regulations and existing policies prevent it from doing so. RE de-velopers, on the other hand, cannot build their projects when there is no adequate transmission capacity,” the NGCP said. “With the expected growth of the RE in-dustry, particularly that of wind power, the required mechanism and strategies that will guide NGCP and RE develop-ers must be in place soon. Otherwise, the industry will face a ‘chicken and egg’ problem on transmission and gen-eration development.” The NGCP wants to see creation of a renewable energy zone and a national transmission corridor. “The government under its own National Renewable Ener-gy Plan should identify areas with high potential for large scale development of RE resources. Once identified, the area can be declared as a competitive renew-able energy zone,” NGCP said. “This will facilitate not only the competitive de-ployment of RE-based generating facili-ties but will serve as NGCP’s reference in formulating a long-term plan for the transmission capacity needed to support the RE zone.” As this issue awaits resolution, con-troversy also surrounds the approval of renewable energy service contracts. The Department of Energy was compelled to issue a denial that it has been holding up approval of contracts. Energy Secre-tary Jose Rene D. Almendras told media that DoE continues to approve and re-lease renewable energy service contracts following the adoption of a new set of terms that will help ensure the delivery of commitments by project proponents.Almendras said the DoE has signed and approved over 1,000 megawatts of hy-

dropower and mini-hydropower plant projects in the past few months in areas “where it really works.” Whereas in the past the department released and issued service contracts without fixing “the peripheral issues,” under his stew-ardship the DoE makes sure that a project covering a particular service contract will get off the ground and be operationally viable. “We know we have a lot of problems or challenges but we have the solutions and implemented solutions. We’ve tested it and it works, so now it’s just im-plementing it and we can expect it will continue,” said. According to a July 2011 DoE re-port, 236 contracts had been awarded to renewable energy proponents, with a to-tal generation capacity of 2,823 MW. Of these, 124 contracts involved hydropow-er, three ocean energy, 21 geothermal en-ergy, 46 wind farms, two solar power and 40 biomass plants. Based on that report, 164 of the 236 contracts are currently at predevel-opment stages while 72 are in the development stage. The DoE says it has yet to award or approve 384 pending renewable energy project applications – 191 involving hy-dropower, 70 solar power, 59 wind farm, 28 biomass, 21 ocean energy and 15 geo-thermal, with a total potential combined capacity of 6,046 MW. The biggest in the line-up are Pan Pacific Renewable Power’s 600 MW hy-dropower project in Apayao, Coastal Power Development’s 420 MW wind farm project in Sorsogon, Jobin-Sqm’s 100 MW solar power project in Zam-bales, Eoil and Gas’ 60 MW geothermal power project in South Cotabato, and Green Power Bukidnon’s 35 MW bio-mass project in Bukidnon. Again on the defensive but focusing specifically on Mindanao, Secretary Al-mendras countered allegations by critics that he is apparently blocking investors and developers proposing renewable en-ergy plants, particularly solar-powered units. In an interview with the Philippine

RE proponents see rough year ahead




PMC FP

Energy Resources

Daily Inquirer newspaper, he said the government is pacing the entry of more expensive energy sources in the grids to ensure that consumers are not burdened by higher power rates. “I have no problem if Mindanao wants renewable energy and if consum-ers are willing to pay for it. I have noth-ing against biomass and hydro, the ap-plications for which we are approving left and right because one, they can be brought into the grid and second, their consistency levels are good so we can ex-pect less interruption,” Almendras said. “They want 100 megawatts of solar in Mindanao at 17.95 pesos per kilowatt-hour. If the people of Mindanao want solar energy at that price and they will pay for it, it is not my job to stop them. They can do what they want and they do not even need to go into the grid,” Almendras said. He noted, however, these solar fa-cilities should be embedded, meaning the power to be generated from the solar power plants should not go through the grid and thus not entitled to the feed-

in-tariff rates. This would mean those paying for power generated by solar fa-cilities would be those who use it, so that not everybody connected to the grid would be burdened by higher electric-ity rates, he said. If proposed feed-in-tariff rates are approved, solar power and ocean energy producers will enjoy the highest rates of 17.95 pesos a kilowatt-hour and 17.65 per kwh respectively. Investors in wind farms would get a feed-in rate of 10.37 pesos per kwh; for biomass 7 pesos per kwh; and for hydropower 6.15 pesos per kwh. To further complicate the issue, op-position to the feed-in tariff structure is hardening. In late 2011, an application for a temporary restraining order to halt proceedings of the Energy Regula-tory Commission on feed-in tariffs was filed by the so-called Founda-tion for Economic Freedom. Frustration by project proponents was summed up by David Sutton, direc-tor of UPC Renewables and a member of the Wind Energy Developers’ As-sociation of the Philippines, during the European Chambers of Commerce of the Philippines Renewable Energy Forum.

“Those who have already invested to develop the market for renewable energy in the Philippines are having dif-ficulty because of the delay in the imple-mentation of feed-in tariff,” he said. “For the wind sector, it is very difficult to pro-ceed without the feed-in tariff.” The Foundation for Economic Free-dom, filed for the TRO with the Court of Appeals, against hearings by the En-ergy Regulatory Commission and the petition by the National Renewable En-ergy Board on the feed-in tariff – which would guarantee national grid payment to renewable energy producers through a universal charge. The foundation’s petition claims the ERC hearings to set the feed-in tar-iff should be suspended because “the commission committed grave abuse of discretion amounting to lack or excess of jurisdiction in refusing to dismiss the NREB petition due to prematurity as there were no renewable energy port-folio standards rules yet... and refus-ing to dismiss the petition due to its failure to find that the weekly publi-cation of its notice of hearing was not actually complied with.” ■


Obstacles to renewable energy options continue to worry proponents of new facilities, to the extent that many wonder whether more wind farms like this one at Bangui in Ilocos Norte will ever happen.

RE proponents see rough year ahead



Energy Resources

Power distribution and now generation firm Manila Elec-tric Company has a new power

plant on the drawing board, and is looking at coal-fired, natural gas and hydroelectric options. It is eyeing pro-duction of up to 600 megawatts, hope-fully by 2016-2017, and connecting to the Luzon electricity grid. Meralco chief operating officer Os-car Reyes said the timetable depends on supply and demand, centering on which of the existing power plants are going to be retired and when. “But we’re mainly looking at 2016 or 2017,” he said. Feasibility studies are under way looking at the viability of coal and liq-uefied natural gas. Coal is attractive mainly in terms of cost efficiency. Natu-ral gas would depend on availability of supply, whether more gas will be made available from the Malampaya gas field off Palawan, as well as the availability of the necessary infrastructure such as a land-based gas terminal or a floating storage and regasification unit. “If more natural gas becomes avail-able, then we would prefer natural gas because it’s indigenous. We’re busy exploring all options but natural gas would be a good play because it offers diversification,” Reyes said. Meralco is also looking for poten-

tial hydropower projects, especially those which might be combined with bulk water supply. “We’re scouting in Luzon. There are various potentials of about 150 to 300 megawatts of impound-ing hydro,” he said. Among the sites be-ing considered are the Laiban Dam, Si-erra Madre area and Kaliwa and Kanan Rivers, for which several proposals for bulk water supply projects have already been put forward to the government. “With hydro resources, you could have a bulk water and power project. But if you’re looking at supplying water requirements for Metro Manila, then you’ll have to go for a source that is reasonably near to the market like the Sierra Madre area, Kaliwa and Kanan Rivers and Laiban. I think those will be led by bulk water projects. We’re just exploring what the opportunities are,” Reyes said. Meralco’s chairman is Manuel V. Pangilinan, who also chairs Manila’s west zone water concessionaire, Maynilad Wa-ter Services. In terms of possi-ble partners in a power plant ven-ture, Reyes said: “I think for us, we will partner with whoever can bring better val-ue both for our customers and for us,” Reyes said. The com-pany also needs to look for a partner that “has the technology, who’s got the water rights and experience,” he said. “It’s open. We’re partner ag-nostic.” M e r a l c o earlier formed Meralco Power-Gen in an effort to reduce rates

and secure electricity supply. Under current regulations, power retailers such as Meralco can source electricity from its own power plants provided these do not exceed more than half of their total requirements. Meralco PowerGen has since ac-quired a majority stake in an Aboitiz Power Corporation joint venture that is building a coal-fired power operation in Subic Bay Freeport to produce up to 600 megawatts The corporate vehicle there is Redondo Peninsula Energy, known as RP Energy, set up as a 50-50 joint venture company between Aboitiz Power’s wholly owned subsidiary Therma Power and Taiwan Cogenera-tion International. After encountering strong oppo-sition to the project from local com-munity and environmental groups, the builders are now going ahead with the plant projected to start operation in 2014, linked to the Luzon power grid. ■

Meralco eyes another power plant

Meralco hopes its new power plant project won’t encounter the same stiff opposition it faced with the coal-fired 300-to-600 MW operation the company is building in Subic Bay Freeport. Local community and environmental groups there came out strongly against that project, filing joint protests which Alex Hormoso (center), lead convener of the Olongapo-Zambales Civil Society Network, gave to Meralco PowerGen president Oscar Reyes (right) and Aboitiz Power president Erramon Aboitiz as the two signed their mid-2011 joint venture pact for the Subic plant with another partner, Taiwan Cogeneration International.

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As coal mining projects have long gestation period of about seven to eight years for underground

mines and four to five years for open cast mines to reach peak production, a new concept in designing modular coal preparation plants offers the advantages of gradual build-up on beneficiation ca-pacity. This keeps up with the increased production and thereby obviates the ne-cessity of blocking capital investment at the outset, hence saving on capital cost. Now the mine equipment specialist Met-so says it has taken modular coal prepa-ration plants to a new level in design, fab-rication and installation. The main advantage of modular plants is that they are pre-engineered and have a shorter completion time than con-ventional prep plants. They offer the ef-ficiency and reliability available in most custom-built plants, but with the added benefit of being easy to disassemble and move to a new location. Modular plants can also be designed to allow the addition of future modules for expansion only when warranted by production increases. Metso plants employ conventional coal washing equipment. Many standard circuits are available including heavy me-dium washing (both vessel and cyclone), jigs and water-only cyclones. Metso offers a full range of equip-ment: sieve bends, raw coal de-sliming screens, clean coal D&R screens, refuge coal D&R screens, heavy media cyclones (Multotec), classifying cy-clones (Multotec), lo-flo bath, low intensity mag-netic separators, slurry pumps, centrifuges, and all chutes, tankage and laun-ders. The advantages are • Shorter completiontime hence lower over-all capital cost;•Lowestpaybackperiod;•Cost reduction due to pre-engineered plant;• Themajority of assem-bly work is done in a Metso workshop under expert supervision;• Field receiving, storage

and fit-up problems at site are eliminated.• Ease of disassembly and shifting theplant to another coal mine location;•Add-onfeaturesofmoduletoenhancecapacity of modular plant. In construction of modular plants, all structural steel models in the modules are in accordance with current standards in design and fabrication of structural steel for buildings. Structural steel con-nections are designed for field-bolted assembly. Each module has wide flange floor members with T cord upper mem-bers which fit together as modules are stacked. All necessary bracing is included on each module before shipment. This results in a rigid frame to withstand with equipment in place. The framework of all modules is pre-engineered and standardized to the same size. The size of a module is 11’–0” wide by 12’–0” high by 30’–0” or 40’–0” long.Interconnection of Modules Each module is manufactured in-cluding jigs and fixtures to ensure that all interconnections match when lifted into place during field erection. Most connec-tions are by hi-tensile steel bolts with all the holes drilled in the workshop before shipment. Splice plates are used on all column connections. Foundation work consists of estab-lishing construction lines and levels from cus-tomer’s benchmarks, furnishing and installing concrete, forms, reinforcement steel and an-chor bolts. The actual foundation can be piers

or a slab to support the structural modules and depends on the site conditions. Each module is pre-wired with wir-ing in rigid galvanized steel conduits ex-cept where the conduit is used for field connections between modules. Each module has a junction box and once the modules are stacked in place, the flex conduit is simply connected from the upper module to the junction box of the next lower module. The pre-wiring includes all electrical devices such as motors, stop-jog switches, lighting and electrical outlets. The basis for the selection of all preparation equipment within a modu-lar coal preparation plant is the same as would be used in a conventional coal preparation plant. The customers’ raw coal size analysis and washability data are reviewed by engineers to determine the most efficient and economic method of cleaning to meet the particular quality requirements. Then the various modules are assembled to develop the circuits determined to be the most efficient and economical by the preparation engineers. Even though the modules are stan-dardized, variations in stacking obtain different circuits and combinations of circuits to create a functional plant that gives the flexibility necessary to produce an efficient plant design. All modules are designed for rail truck transportation with lifting lugs pro-vided on each. If it becomes neces-sary to move a plant, it can be discon-nected at the modular connections

and transported and re-as-sembled at the new site. Once the foundation work is completed, the field erection of modular plants primarily consists of lifting each module from the truck or rail car and placing it in the proper position. After a module is lifted into posi-tion, all that remain are the connections to anchor bolts and other modules, connect-ing flexible electrical connec-tions between junction box-es, piping connections, and adding the necessary chutes, hoppers and sluices to com-plete the circuits. ■

Modular plants save time, money

The Lamella thickener portable water treatment system is an integral part of the modular coal preparation plants built by Metso.

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Mining AUSTRALiA 2011inTeRnATionAL exhibiTion, beLMonT pARk RAcecoURSe 6,7 & 8 ApRiL 2011

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New technology and equipment for down-hole surveys by miner-al exploration companies is now

available in the Philippines. The acoustic televiewer tools - which give much more comprehensive views of the surround-ing rock features down the hole, allow-ing better identification of potential ore deposits - have been brought in by the geological, exploration and drilling sup-plies specialist GXD. GXD has acquired the latest ALT Instruments ATV equipment, which gen-erates an image of the borehole wall by transmitting ultrasound pulses from a rotating sensor. GXD provides onsite teams to operate the equipment in part-nership with Resources Development Contractors of New Zealand, known as RDCL, which provides specialized pro-fessionals for the interpretation of the data generated. Acoustic borehole scanner tools generate an image of the borehole wall by transmitting ultrasound pulses from a rotating sensor and recording the am-plitude and travel time of the signals reflected at the borehole walls interface between mud and formation. The most widely used applications for the ATV are fracture detection and evaluation; detection of thin beds; de-termination of bedding dip; lithologi-cal interpretation; breakout analysis;

monitoring of earth stress field; cas-ing inspection; and high resolution caliper measurements. GXD’s latest generation of the ALT ATV is a multi-echo system. This is achieved by digital recording of the re-flected wave train. On-line analysis of the acoustic data is made by digital sig-nal processor. Sophisticated algorithms allow the system to detect the reflection from the acoustic window and to sepa-rate/classify all subsequent echoes. Minimum input of the operator is needed to enable: automatic optimiza-tion of measurement window under all borehole conditions; automatic adap-tation to variable borehole conditions; improvement of dynamic range of signal detection; very high travel time resolu-tion; and implementation of different operating modes. Main features of the new ATV are: •Directlinear14bit,10mhzA/Dconver-sion (automatic gain settings);•Dynamicrangeofamplitudemeasure-ment is 84 db; •Calliperresolutionisbetterthan0,1mm;•Orientationsensorwhichdoesnotre-quire field calibration;• Increased telemetry bandwidth (datatransmission rate up to 500kbits depend-ing on wire-line), 166kbps typical on 300m four-conductors;•Fullwaveformrecordingandreal-time

display for quality control;• Multi-echo mode to realize acousticmeasurements through plastic pipes (requiring the plastic pipe to be cen-tralized inside the borehole);•Pipe-inspectionmodetodetectinnercor-rosion, outer corrosion, and wall thickness;•Automaticmeasurementwindowdefi-nition to gain optimum performance and variable borehole conditions. ■

Debut for hi-tech borehole televiewer

Pusong Minero

The GXD team at work with the company’s new ATV down-hole equipment, at an exploration borehole in Batangas.

Simon HalleyEditor

the anti-mining and environmentalist lobby started firing from the hip without looking or thinking. They burst into the headlines blam-ing both the Iligan/Cagayan de Oro and the Pantukan tragedies on the usually sus-pects - logging and mining. This contin-ued for a week until the reality became clear: there are no large mining opera-tions in the Iligan/Cagayan de Oro area, and none around the Compostela Valley. Yes, illegal logging is rampant in the region, as evidenced by the myriad logs washed down-river by the flash floods. And yes, there are many small-scale miners burrowing into hillsides in the Compostela Valley, which operate either illegally or un-der the radar of the local officials who are supposed to police that sector. They are a law unto themselves and have nothing to do with large-scale, responsible mining. Hopefully, the reality is now accepted that large, responsible, mining companies were not involved in triggering the trag-edies. If blame has to be apportioned, the finger should be pointed at the small, lo-cal, informal miners – and at the local gov-ernment officials who let them dig unsafe holes in unstable ground. To the con-trary, the Pusong Minero major min-ers are doing the best possible job of helping local communities recover af-ter the damage has been done. ■


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Advertisers’ IndexADEN 31AMC – Reflex 19Austhai Geophysical 13Black Pearl (Business Profiles) 17Brunel 24-25Cape 22-23Cardno 11GXD 21Hansa Meyer 7Indodrill IBCIntertek 5iPrint 30JCL International 15Lomar 32Maccaferri 29McConnell Dowell BCMetso 3Mining Australia 41Monark CAT 9MRL Gold 27Orica 2Pacific Strategies 38Paperless Trail 39Philippine Mining Club 37Philippine Resources Journal 43QED IFCSGS 1

Looking after the community

Toasting to a new identity

In its remote site projects all over the world, ADEN Services continu-ally considers the surrounding areas

and the local population. The company’s standard policy is to employ 95 percent local while attempting to also procure all project operation supplies locally. Strict regulations concerning health, safety and environmental policies and inter-national hygiene standards are imple-mented on all the projects. Since providing the services for the Masbate Gold Project in Masbate in 2009, the company has been actively in-volved in social and economic develop-ment in the region. By way of donations and sponsorship of local community or-ganizations or sporting teams, ADEN is actively involved in improving the qual-ity of life for local communities. But the company’s engagement in the sustainable development does not stop there. ADEN is constantly devel-oping new green and eco-friendly so-lutions in every aspect of the services it provides - and its clients know that.

That’s why ADEN is expanding its presence in the Philippines year by year, signing new contracts and in-creasing its initiatives in sustainable development in the country. ■

Another ADEN clean-up day at for the environment.

Senior executives gathered in Manila to toast to the success of Hansa Meyer - ATS Projects following corporate restructuring and resulting name changes. Pictured at the party were (from left): master of ceremony Sandra Seifert, Hansa Meyer - ATS Projects (HATAS) president and chief executive officer Klaus Schroeder; retired shareholder and consultant Karl-Georg Gorski; HATS chief operating officer Stefan Schmitz; HATS project support manager Alfred Schroeder; Hansa Meyer Global Transport Germany director and HATS director Holger Hartmann; HATS operations manager Matchit Dela Cruz; Hansa Meyer Global Transport managing director Juern Schmidt; HATS project manager and industry head for power transmission and distribution Roberto Yco Jr; HATS project manager and industry head for mining and renewable energy Fernando de Achaval; HATS project manager and industry head for power generation Leonard “Jaypee” Lim; Hansa Meyer Global

Transport managing director Norbert Giese; HATS assistant manager for project support Stefanie Kuehnapfel; NN-ATS president and chairman Jun Tagud; HATS project manager and industry head for telecommunications Catalino David and HATS project manager Edward “Woody” Wuthrich.The corporate reorganization comes after the Aboitiz family sold Aboitiz Transport System to Negros Navigations and Aboitiz Transport System was renamed NN-ATS. The sales contract between Aboitiz and Negros specified that that the name Aboitiz had to be removed from all company names within one year of the date of sale.This also affected APTSC - Aboitiz Projects Transport Systems Corporation and APTSC was renamed as Hansa Meyer - ATS Projects. The company stresses that all the company’s business and relationships remain unaffected by the change.

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Philippine Resources Issue 1 2012

Documents

Transcript of Philippine Resources Issue 1 2012