Petroleum, Mining, and Logging Industries

[watcher09]

Higher penalties expected

By Bettina Faye V. Roc
BusinessWorld

LISTED Philex Mining Corp. could face close to P1 billion in penalties following leaks from the tailings pond of its Padcal mine in Benguet, the government said yesterday.

Environment Secretary Ramon Jesus P. Paje said in a briefing in Quezon City that the copper and gold producer faces penalties under Republic Act No. 7942, or Philippine Mining Act of 1995, and RA 9275, or Clean Water Act of 2004.

"We are still computing the penalty [under the Mining Act], but it is much higher than our earlier estimate of P325 million. Based on the first incident, we have already communicated to the company that the penalty at the time was at P325 million, but now I think it’s already more than double or triple that amount, especially when we take into account the more recent leaks," said Mr. Paje. "Over and above that, we’re also computing an ongoing penalty of P200,000 per day under the Clean Water Act. We chose to use the maximum penalty based on our survey of the extent of the damage."

Read more...
http://www.bworldonline.com/content....ected&id=58324

[Nabartek]

Originally Posted by GodIsNotGreat

In case some people are unaware, the mining/extractive industry is a vital component of an industrial economy. Consider:

1. The raw materials in cement manufacturing are limestone, shale, gypsum and pozzolan which are all non-metallic minerals. In the Philippines these are chiefly won by quarrying. In rare cases, but none in the Philippines, limestone is mined underground. How could industrialization proceed without cement?

2. Construction products like granite, marble, adobe are all extracted from the earth by mining. I am not aware though that we are quarrying granite in the Philippines.
We have marble quarries in Rizal, Bulacan, Cebu, Romblon, among others.

3. Industrial products like paint, toothpaste, ceramics, etc. have non-metallic components which are mined/quarried.

4. Gravel and stone aggregates are essential in road construction, dams and other infrastructure; these are likewise products of the mining/quarrying industry.

5. Gold has played a key role in world finance and in the jewelry business.

6. Copper is essential in the manufacturing industry.

There is no downplaying the fact that a few mining companies are remiss in their environmental and social responsibilities. However, given the essential role that mining plays in industrialization, the proper approach should be to ensure companies follow environmentally sound practices.

When you stop all mining in the world, development stops.

No mining = no technology, no ELECTRICITY (copper wires)...basically, no economy.

But you are right, we need mining but we need to regulate it and be primarily for our own use. Rather than banning mining (like what those partylists, do), they should make conditions like 70% will have to be sold in the Philippines and strict environmental rules should be enforced.

[GodIsNotGreat]

Originally Posted by Nabartek

No mining = no technology, no ELECTRICITY (copper wires)...basically, no economy.

strict environmental rules should be enforced.

This is very important. I hope the mining industry is going to be revived. It invigorates the economy of far-flung areas, employs local people, reaches out to the communities and enhances the skills of a lot of able-bodied Filipinos.

[Xmod10]

Malaking tulong ang mining pero minsan, malaking pinsala din ang dinudulot nito sa kalikasan. If done properly with proper guides and laws, this can be very helpful to our economy. Mga taga ibang bansa na lng ang nakikinabang sa ating likas na yaman.

[Parchie]

Originally Posted by Xmod10

Malaking tulong ang mining pero minsan, malaking pinsala din ang dinudulot nito sa kalikasan. If done properly with proper guides and laws, this can be very helpful to our economy. Mga taga ibang bansa na lng ang nakikinabang sa ating likas na yaman.

Laws, etc means nothing if those implementing can be bought, that is first and foremost.

Nagpalabas pa nga ng mga bagong orders, lalong gumulo! Dahil habang naging magulo ang batas, the more na may lusot! Ano sa palagay nyo?

[Monchhichi]

Aussie mining firm secures funding for further PHL explorations
Australian miner Mindoro Resources, Ltd. (MRL) is stepping up exploration in four of its major projects in the Philippines, setting aside at least P50 million for explorations in the Western Visayas, Southern Luzon and Surigao del Norte.

“TVI (TVI Resources Development, Inc) has taken up placement in our company. We finished the exercise in October. Proceeds of the placement will be used to fund exploration activities of MRL projects in 2013,” company country manager Toni Climie said in an interview Monday.

He added that expenditures for exploration may increase if a particular project “is advancing.”

A two-tranche placement of 42.78 million units by TVI into MRL was recently concluded, which paved the way for the creation of a joint venture company – MRL Nickel, Inc.

“From here on, TVI will be funding our exploration costs for the Agata project in Surigao [del Norte] and Pan de Azucar in Iloilo. They (TVI) will operate the projects,” said Climie.

The Agata project has the potential to be a high-value-low-operating-cost endeavor and it may possibly establish the feasibility of a staged nickel project development.

In October 29 this year, MRL also entered into a joint venture agreement with Australian firm Red Mountain Mining. The joint venture created another joint venture company - MRL Gold, Inc.

The agreement gave Red Mountain 100 percent direct and indirect interest in MRL’s copper-gold projects in Batangas and Surigao del Norte.

Climie said that Red Mountain’s established resources will help MRL in the grassroots level of operations in the gold-copper projects. — DVM, GMA News
http://www.gmanetwork.com/news/story...l-explorations

[Monchhichi]

Canada PM urged to look into Canadian firms’ mining activities in PHL
Visiting Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper should look into the mining activities of Canadian firms in the country to make sure that these companies are not violating the rights of locals, two progressive party-list lawmakers said Sunday.

ACT Teachers party-list Rep. Antonio Tinio particularly urged Harper to investigate activities of Canada-based Toronto Ventures Incorporated (TVI), which has been seeking to develop open-pit mining for gold extraction in Zamboanga del Sur since last year.

“We hope that Prime Minister Harper will look into reports of serious human rights violations involving TVIRD operations in Zamboanga del Sur and take steps to ensure that Canadian mining firms doing business in the Philippines operate with due respect for human rights,” Tinio said in a statement Sunday.

Harper arrived in Manila last Friday for a three-day state visit. On Saturday, he inked a defense procurement deal with President Benigno Aquino III, supposedly to “enable the Philippines to acquire the equipment and expertise it needs to fulfill the country's defense and security agenda.”

Bayan Muna party-list Rep. Neri Colmenares meanwhile said that Harper should give Aquino the assurance that Canada will “in holding accountable” Canadian mining firms that are found to have committed human rights violations on Philippine soil.

“Coming from a country which prides itself with respecting human rights, and hosts a large number of Filipino immigrants, the Canadian delegation is asked to help in the battle against impunity in the country,” Colmenares said in a separate statement.

TVI Resource Development, the Canadian mining firm’s Philippine affiliate, is currently the subject of a House probe for alleged violations of small-scale miners’ rights in Bayog town in Zamboanga del Sur.

Tinio, who filed the House resolution which triggered the probe, said officials of the mining firm have already been summoned to the legislative inquiry. — BM, GMA News
http://www.gmanetwork.com/news/story...ivities-in-phl

[Parchie]

Originally Posted by Nabartek

No mining = no technology, no ELECTRICITY (copper wires)...basically, no economy.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . they should make conditions like 70% will have to be sold in the Philippines and strict environmental rules should be enforced.

But, will you buy my laterite ore, if I may ask? Pray tell me, which company in the country processes laterite so I can sell them ore! Or perhaps you are talking about gold alone!

[Monchhichi]

Coal Asia eyes expansion in Mindanao
Publicly listed Coal Asia Holdings Inc. is looking at expansion opportunities in Mindanao amid the explosion of demand to meet the region’s energy needs.
Coal Asia, which is one of the few major coal players in the area, said it was now in talks with the Department of Energy and other power companies that were planning to expand operations in the southern part of the country for long-term supply agreements.
“Positive talks with large power producers have been initiated and talks of a mine-mouth power plant set-up have been mentioned,” the company said in a statement.
To add to its commitment to the energy sector, Coal Asia’s affiliate, Colossal Petroleum Corp., signed a memorandum of agreement to buy into VenturOil, which owns Service Contract (SC) No. 6. The said contract covers offshore oil and gas exploration rights to Northwest Palawan encompassing the Cadlao and Bonita oil fields.
Amid expansion plans, Coal Asia said a recent assessment by independent investment bank Multinational Investment Bancorporation (MIB) showed that the company “was still significantly undervalued, based on its current share price.”
In compliance with PSE requirements related to the IPO, Coal Asia has decided to engage an accredited third-party company to re-evaluate and revalue the coal resources of its subsidiary, Titan Mining and Energy Company (TMEC).
A previous valuation was done in May 2012 by Multinational Investment Bancorporation (MIB) which, based on data from March 2012, had valued the coal reserves at 123 million metric tons (MMT) amounting to P12.5 billion.
Data as of June and July of this year indicated that results of the previous valuation based on the existing coal operating contracts (COC) in Davao Oriental and in Zamboanga-Sibugay might still be undervalued because of the current coal prices and the estimated yield from the said COCs.
Market capitalization was at P4.24 billion as of the last trading day.
“Based on the results of the revaluation, the corporation should conduct a study on options to enhance stockholders benefits. The enhancement in the corporation’s assets will allow it to have retained earnings, and will result in a possible buy-back program depending on the surplus situation,” Coal Asia said.—Paolo G. Montecillo
http://business.inquirer.net/92652/c...on-in-mindanao

Philex spill ‘biggest mining disaster’ in PHL, surpassing Marcopper – DENR
(Exclusive) After months of recurring leakages, the Philex mine spill in Benguet has become the “biggest mining disaster” in the Philippines in terms of volume, but the company is seeking a clean-up option instead of paying the hefty fine of P1 billion, officials said.

Some 20 million metric tons of sediments have flowed into water channels from the Philex tailings pond in Itogon since its drainage tunnel was breached last August, according to a report from the Mines and Geosciences Bureau of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (MGB-DENR).

This is ten times more than the volume of mine tailings that spilled out of the Marcopper mine in 1996 in Marinduque, which dumped some two million metric tons of waste into the Boac River and is still considered the worst mining disaster in terms of toxicity. Residents along the 27-kilometer Boac River lost their fishing livelihood and diseases have afflicted the community after the incident.

“In terms of volume, ito [Philex mine tailings spill] ngayon ‘yung biggest mining disaster in the Philippines,” MGB chief Leo Jasareno told GMA News Online in an exclusive interview last Friday.

Philex spokesperson Atty. Eduardo Aratas affirmed the statement: “Because of the volume [of the leak], it is really the biggest. But on the toxicity, it is not.”

Mining officials are still studying the toxicity levels of the wastes from the gold and copper mine that were deposited in nearby waterways after heavy monsoon rains led to a major breach in its drainage tunnel last August 1. About five "minor" recurrences have been reported since then, Jasareno said.

This week, the bureau is set to conduct a socio-environmental impact assessment of the tailings pond leak to determine the extent of the damage.

The DENR has slapped a hefty P1-billion fine, almost as much as the mining firm's taxes last year, on one of the country’s largest producers of gold and copper.

But Philex is reluctant to pay up, arguing that, “forces of nature cannot be prevented 100 percent.”

Aratas asserted, “Ang sinasabi ng management, sige if you fine us tapos na dapat [‘yung responsibility]. Or, if you order us to clean up, then gagawin namin ‘yun.”

The MGB chief is standing pat on the penalty. “Ang contention kasi ng Philex pagka-force majeure hindi sila dapat magbayad ng P1 billion. [Pero] dun sa provision ng Mining Act na kung saan namin hinugot yung parusa… wala namang nakalagay na hindi ka magbabayad kung force majeure,” Jasareno explained.

Balog Creek ‘biologically dead’

The penalty for violating other environmental laws – such as the Clean Water Act – will be imposed separately on Philex, Jasareno said. This will cost about P50,000 per day, in addition to a clean-up plan for the rehabilitation of damaged waterways.

The company has said that torrential monsoon rains caused a breach in its Tailings Pond 3 -- the largest in the country at 80 hectares -- which can hold up to 160 million metric tons of wastewater and sediments from the mining operations.

The leakage in what is currently the only operating tailings pond of Philex spilled waste into nearby water channels, particularly Balog Creek, which flows into the Agno River.

Last October, an environmental investigative mission declared Balog Creek "biologically dead" after it suffered the worst of the discharge, which was deposited along the 2.5-kilometer water channel.

The creek had turned gray, with the riverbed full of mud and the water brownish in color. There were no signs of frogs, dragonflies, aquatic plants or moss. The water was too murky to spot any fish.

According to the Philex spokesperson, the company is aware that the mining leak weighs heavily on the public’s perception of mining operations in the country.

“Ang face ng mining will be at stake [dito]. Ayaw din namin na i-fail,” said Aratas. “Hindi lang Philex kasi ito. We are carrying the burden of proving that mining is really responsible.”

Trust fund for communities

Jasareno said the fines would be placed in a trust fund that will be used to pay for the claims of affected residents or communities.

The MGB director added that the 57-year-old company would not be allowed to continue its operations “unless they are able to undertake the necessary remediation measures provided by law.”

“Dapat i-remedy nila, otherwise di [sila] bibigyan ng permit,” he pointed out.

According to Aratas, the company managed to plug the leak last September, but its operations remain suspended pending the clean-up of the mining spill.

In early October, President Aquino referred to the mining disaster, without naming Philex directly, when he told the Foreign Correspondents Association of the Philippines that reforms were needed in the mining law:
"In terms of revenues, our position is government gets something like less than 10 percent of what they (mining companies) make. But we have a hundred percent if there is a problem that crops up, meaning, for instance, one of the oldest firms – of mining firms – in the country suffered multiple failures of their tailings pond, and that redounds to quite a significant impact on the environment.

"We still stick with our position that there has to be a reformulation of the governing law with regards to the mining industry. And we would rather not continue the situation or also the risks until the remedies or the corrections in the mining laws will be corrected." – YA/HS, GMA News
http://www.gmanetwork.com/news/story...per-ndash-denr

[watcher09]

I've heard from an interview with a Philex official that the penalty should not be that much since the catastrophe was brought about by acts of God.

Even so, should forces of nature be used as an scapegoat? I still think that the breach should have been avoided since we had been warned of heavy rains. They should have anticipated for the worst cases of forces of nature in their prevention schemes. Can that dead Balog Creek be brough to life again? And this creek flows to a much wider body of water which I think in which water is being collected by a dam?

[Parchie]

Originally Posted by watcher09

I've heard from an interview with a Philex official that the penalty should not be that much since the catastrophe was brought about by acts of God.

Even so, should forces of nature be used as an scapegoat? I still think that the breach should have been avoided since we had been warned of heavy rains. They should have anticipated for the worst cases of forces of nature in their prevention schemes. Can that dead Balog Creek be brough to life again? And this creek flows to a much wider body of water which I think in which water is being collected by a dam?

Yep, the accumulation of rainfall in the area increased the volume (hence the water level contained in the dam). The design of that Pond 3 looks proper for the normal operation of the mining aspect. IMO, what was missed are the drain channels to keep rainwater from nearby mountain slopes from mixing with the tailings water in the tailings dam.

[Monchhichi]

DOE to award 40 oil, coal contracts by yearend

MANILA, Philippines - The Department of Energy (DOE) is looking to start the awarding of service contracts for nearly 40 petroleum and coal projects late this year.

This will jumpstart the country’s bid to explore its natural resources for new petroleum sources, a DOE official said.

Energy Undersecretary Ramon Allan Oca said they are hoping to award new service contracts under the Philippine Energy Contracting Round (PECR) 4 late this year.

“We are still undergoing continuous review,” Oca said on the sidelines of the Upstream Energy 2012 conference in Pasay City.

“We want to make sure that when we award these things, it is given to the really most qualified [firms] and that we want to ensure that the process is something fair,” Oca said.

The PECR 4 auctions in April and July attracted 20 offers for 11 petroleum blocks and 69 bids for 28 coal areas. In the past three PECRs, the DOE received only 12 bids in total.

In July last year, the DOE launched PECR 4, offering 15 new petroleum exploration projects and 38 coal blocks nationwide that will require around $7.5 billion in investments.

Oca said the review is already in the top management level of the DOE.

However, the awarding has already been pushed back. In July, the DOE announced that it might award service contracts to winning bidders in September or October.

Oca said numerous new service contracts will be awarded to companies all at once.

“As we know, the Philippines is underexplored so this is a step towards that (more exploration projects),” Oca said.

The PECR 4, the biggest offering of the country so far, comprises three onshore and 12 offshore blocks with a total area of more than 10 million hectares mostly located in Northwest Palawan and East Palawan that are in the West Philippine Sea (South China Sea) and Sulu Sea basins.

To date, there are 27 service contracts in the Philippines involving Shell Philippines Exploration, Nido Petroleum and BHP Billiton. However, only the Malampaya and Galoc oil fields are in regular production.

The DOE is pursuing energy independence and sustainability through the development of indigenous energy resources like coal, petroleum and natural gas.

For coal, local miners are producing only seven million metric tons (MT) of coal per year, not enough to support the nation’s annual demand of 12 million MT, data from the DOE showed. This prompts power generators and cement plants to buy coal in countries like Indonesia.

“The Asia-Pacific region has been and continues to be the most reliant to coal for power generation,” Rufino Bomasang, chairman of the Philippine Chamber of Coal Mines, said in his paper presented at the forum.

“Unfortunately, the expansion of Philippine coal development utilization has been stymied by opposition of different sectors on concerns on adverse impacts on coal mining and coal combustion,” Bomasang said.

Meanwhile, Oca said the DOE is still keen on developing the Camago well in the Malampaya gas field in Northwest Palawan.

“We are always trying to take a look on how we can develop that,” Oca said.

“But we have to ensure the safety of the gas operations because it stands in the middle of the gas operations so safety considerations for the gas operations are utmost importance,” Oca said.
http://www.philstar.com/business/201...tracts-yearend

[Monchhichi]

Australian oil firm to explore 3 Cebu prospects
By Neil Jerome Morales (The Philippine Star) | Updated December 2, 2012 - 12:00am

MANILA, Philippines - Australian upstream oil firm Gas2Grid Ltd. will conduct exploration works on three prospects in onshore Cebu island until early next year.

A successful work program will allow the company to fuel a natural gas power plant, the company said.

Specifically, it will conduct a workover for Malolos-1, which will involve the removal and transfer of tubes to Malolos-1 from Nuevo Malolos-1, and oil and gas flow testing.

“The anticipated completion of the two objectives from this workover program will take approximately six weeks,” Gas2Grid said.

The Sydney-based firm holds the 750-square-kilometer petroleum Service Contract 44 located in onshore Cebu island.

Gas2Grid will also conduct exploratory drilling at the Gumamela-1 prospect, which has an estimated 15 million barrels of recoverable oil potential.
Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1

http://www.philstar.com/business/201...cebu-prospects

Fluor Corp eyes more projects in Phl
By Louella D. Desiderio (The Philippine Star) | Updated December 2, 2012 - 12:00am
MANILA, Philippines - Fluor Corp., a firm engaged in engineering and construction management, is looking to participate in more projects in the country, particularly in the areas of power, oil and gas and mining, in line with its goal of growing its business here.

Dan Spinks, vice president and country manager of Fluor Philippines said in an interview the firm is interested in working on other projects in the country in the areas of power, oil and gas and mining as it intends to grow and expand its presence here.

“These are the areas I will be targeting here. These are the areas where I see growth,” he said.

Fluor has completed projects in the country which include Enron Power Corp.’s coal-fired power plant in Batangas and Procter & Gamble’s Cabuyao facility in Laguna.

The firm is currently working on the third phase of the Malampaya gas-to-power project.

Phase 3 involves the design, fabrication and installation of a new depletion compression platform that is linked by a bridge to the existing shallow water platform.
Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1



For the third phase of the project, Fluor is responsible for the engineering and procurement for the new depletion compression platform as well as modifications required on the shallow water platform.

Earlier, the firm entered into a joint venture with Filipino firm AG&P that specializes in modular engineering and fabrication services.

The new entity, AG&P Fluor Joint Venture Company, Inc., is engaged in providing a full range of integrated engineering, fabrication, module assembly and construction services.

Spinks said the firm is also interested in the government’s infrastructure projects under the Public-Private Partnership program but noted that they would want to take part in it with a local partner.

Fluor’s Philippine operations employs 2,248 workers. It started in 1987 with just 57 employees.

The Philippines is the firm’s largest operation in Asia and the third biggest in the world.

As the firm intends and expects its business to grow here, it is looking at hiring more employees.

Spinks said he expects the firm’s total number of employees here to reach close to 3,000 next year.

He also said the firm is aiming to grow its business here given the environment which is conducive to business, opportunities for infrastructure, availability of talent and competitive cost.
http://www.philstar.com/business/201...e-projects-phl

[Juan Pilgrim]

Ruschlikon is a village in Switzerland with a very low tax rate and very wealthy residents. There is so much money in the public coffers that mayor can't spend it all, largely thanks to the contribution from one resident - Ivan Glasenberg, CEO of commodities giant Glencore. However, Glencore's copper mines in Zambia don't generate similar tax windfalls for Zambians. The country has the third largest copper reserves in the world, but 60 per cent of the population live on less than $1 a day and 80 per cent are unemployed. Christoffer Guldbrandsen investigates the dark heart of the tax system employed by multi-nationals and asks how much profit is fair.

A BBC Storyville film, produced in partnership with the Open University, Stealing Africa screens as part of Why Poverty? - when the BBC, in conjunction with more than 70 broadcasters around the world, hosts a debate about contemporary poverty. The global cross-media event sees the same eight films screened in 180 countries to explore why, in the 21st Century, a billion people still live in poverty.




http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p010jx25

http://youtu.be/UFgurguhLsA

Glencore/Xstrata manages the multi-billion dollar Tampakan Copper-Gold Project in South Cotabato, Mindanao, Philippines.

[Nabartek]

Originally Posted by watcher09

I've heard from an interview with a Philex official that the penalty should not be that much since the catastrophe was brought about by acts of God.

Even so, should forces of nature be used as an scapegoat? I still think that the breach should have been avoided since we had been warned of heavy rains. They should have anticipated for the worst cases of forces of nature in their prevention schemes. Can that dead Balog Creek be brough to life again? And this creek flows to a much wider body of water which I think in which water is being collected by a dam?

Philex has religious prohets? Oh no.

IMO, we should have strict protocols than strict investment laws. After all, there isn't any guarantee that local firms are better than foreign firms.

A testament to that is what you have said earlier regarding Philex

[Juan Pilgrim]

Originally Posted by wolfram74

Xstrata's Philippine unit delays $5.9bn mine project to 2019
Reuters


MANILA - Global miner Xstrata Plc's Philippine unit has delayed by three years, to 2019, a target to start production at the $5.9-billion Tampakan copper-gold mine in the country's south, as it remains hopeful of winning approvals from regulators.

Conflicting rules and a freeze on new mine deals in the Philippines are strangling development of the country's untapped mineral resources, estimated by the government to be worth $850-billion.

The Tampakan project, which would be the Philippines' single largest foreign direct investment, has been held up by a 2010 ban on open-pit mining imposed by the government of South Cotabato province, the site of the mine.

Sagittarius Mines Inc (SMI) hopes to start mine construction by 2015, two years later than scheduled, before production starts in 2019, the company said in a statement. It originally aimed to start production in 2016.

So long as the project received local government endorsement and final approvals from the national government, it would go ahead, subject to an investment decision by shareholders, SMI President Peter Forrestal said.

"Construction could potentially commence in 2015, enabling commercial production in 2019," he added.

Sagittarius has had problems getting approvals from the mining regulator for Tampakan because of the ban, which contradicts a national law that is silent on mining methods.

Sagittarius is also partly owned by Australia's Indophil Resources NL, in which Philippine conglomerate San Miguel Corp has a stake of 10%.

The Tampakan mine is estimated to contain 15-million tons of copper and 17.6-million ounces of gold.

As a result of the Philippine mining imbroglio, investments in the sector over the next four years are likely to be less than half the $12-billion originally forecast, state regulator the Mines and Geosciences Bureau has said.

In October, President Benigno Aquino said he wanted Congress to first pass legislation to raise state revenues from mining and put in place environmental safeguards before issuing new mining permits, including those for the Tampakan mine.
Edited by: Reuters

-------------------------

credit goes to pnoy

....

In October, President Benigno Aquino said he wanted Congress to first pass legislation to raise state revenues from mining and put in place environmental safeguards before issuing new mining permits, including those for the Tampakan mine.

Good, lets not get duped by this mining corporations. We need to get as much share of the revenue (tax/sales) as much as possible and make sure we are not left with a toxic environmental mess.

[Juan Pilgrim]

credits to King Tot (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZfCQVxmRIXo)

[d7beast]

dapat i-nationalize ang mining natin, mantakin nyo halos saang sulok ng pinas may mga ginto, kaso ang masaklap mga walang hiyang tsina lang ang nakikinabang at ang mga sakim na opisyales sa gobyerno, mga smuggler ng bansa,..

Australian miner finds high grade gold in Batangas
By Czeriza Valencia (The Philippine Star) | Updated December 20, 2012 - 12:00am
1 26 googleplus0 0

MANILA, Philippines - Australian miner Red Mountain Mining Limited yesterday announced that a second high grade gold system was found within the Lobo gold prospect within the Batangas gold project it acquired from Mindoro Resources Limited.

In a statement, Red Mountain said the first hole of a planned 10-hole diamond drilling program at the West Drift epithermal lode structure at the Lobo prospect, has returned an intersection of 8.60 meters (m) at 2.53 grams per ton of gold (g/t Au) from 136.6m depth downhole including 0.85m at 5.59g/t Au and 1.0m at 4.62g/t Au.

The Lobo prospect, located west of the Archangel gold prospect, also includes the South West Breccia high grade resource.

The new intersection is from Hole LB66 and is part of an initial drilling program conducted by Red Mountain at West Drift to target high grade gold mineralization below the old Lobo copper mine.

“If successful this program has the potential to increase the known Lobo gold resources significantly as the West Drift target area is at least four times larger than the existing South West Breccia resource area immediately to its south,” said Red Mountain Executive Chairman and Acting CEO, Neil Warburton.

In late October, Mindoro Resources announced the completion of the sale of its 100 percent direct and indirect assets in its Batangas gold project (which includes the Lobo property) and its 75 percent direct and indirect interest in the Tapian San Francisco copper-gold project located in Surigao to Red Mountain Mining.

Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1


As consideration for the sale, Red Mountain has issued Mindoro with 100 million fully paid ordinary shares, with full voting rights, to be held in escrow for 12 months, together with 50 million performance shares.

The Red Mountain shares issued to Mindoro are valued at around A$10 million. Mindoro Resources now holds a 55.8 percent interest in Red Mountain on an undiluted basis.

http://philstar.com/business/2012/12...-gold-batangas

[mahadlikha]

Originally Posted by Juan Pilgrim

http://youtu.be/UFgurguhLsA

Glencore/Xstrata manages the multi-billion dollar Tampakan Copper-Gold Project in South Cotabato, Mindanao, Philippines.

it's that same company that committed these hideous atrocities against the Indigenous Peoples:

Tribe family in Tampakan massacred by military

A relative of the two Capion victims, Liah Capion, has previously denounced SMI saying that because she and her family had stood up against the entry of the mining company in their once peaceful community, the Army imprisoned one of her sons and declared three others as outlaws and fugitives.


MANILA — An anti-mining group is accusing the 27th Infantry Battalion of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) of being behind the massacre of a family, who has long been fighting the Tampakan Gold project of SaXstrata’s Sagittarius Mines Inc. (SMI), in Bong Mal South Cotabato.

The Alyansa Tigil Mina received reports that between 6:00 to 6:30 in the morning of October 18, soldiers under the command of Col. Alexis Bravo of the 27th IB of the Philippine Army raided the house of anti-mining advocate Daguil Capion. Minutes later, it was learned that three other civilians Juvy Capion, 27, Pop Capion, 13, and John, 8 were killed during the raid. As of this writing, Daguil remains in critical condition.

Wife and 2 children of tribal anti-mining activist killed by gov’t forces

The wife and two young children of a B’laan leader opposed to the entry of Xstrata’s Sagittarius Mines Inc. in South Cotabato and Davao del Sur were killed in what the military claimed was a firefight between a group of tribal ‘bandits’ and a combined force of Army soldiers and policemen early Thursday morning.

[leofriends]

Oil consortium to drill exploratory well in northwest Leyte by next year

By: Euan Paulo C. Anonuevo, InterAksyon.com
December 26, 2012 8:51 PM

MANILA - The consortium exploring for oil and gas in onshore Leyte has formalized its plan to drill a well in its contract area.

In a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange, Alcorn Gold Resources Corp said the Service Contract 51 consortium has elected to enter the fifth sub-phase of the group's work program.

This entails the drilling of one exploratory well between February 2013 and January 2014.

The group had said it will conduct drilling activities in the exploration block by mid-2013.

The entire drilling program, inclusive of resource testing, will require a budget of $6.7 million.

The SC 51 consortium will drill the said well at the Duhat-2 prospect in the town of San Isidro in northwest Leyte.

SC 51 is led by Australia's Otto Energy Ltd. Its partners in the contract area Alcorn, Trans-Asia Oil and Energy Development Corp and PetroEnergy Resources Corp.

Based on the group's projections, the exploration block may contain up to 23 million barrels or petroleum resources with a potential upside of 59 million barrels.

http://www.interaksyon.com/business/...e-by-next-year