Canadian miners' plans alarm Batangas greens

An official of a Batangas-based environment group raised the alarm on Monday over plans of a Toronto-listed mining company to spend at least $10 million on ore exploration in the next 18 months. The aggressive positioning of the Canadian-owned Mindoro Resources Limited (MRL) Gold poses a threat to the natural resources of Batangas and of MRL’s other exploration sites, Peti Enriquez, convenor of the group Bukluran para sa Inang Kalikasan (Bukal), said in an interview with GMANews.TV. MRL is conducting exploration projects in Batangas as well as in Iloilo, Surigao del Norte, and Agusan del Norte. Enriquez said the projects may spoil two of the three watershed areas in Batangas, Mt. Banoi and Mt. Lobo. She added that MRL poses a threat to the Isla Verde Passage, which scientists from the Smithsonian Institution dubbed as the “center of the center of marine biodiversity," or home to the most diverse concentration of marine species in the world. Formed by environment advocates, church leaders, and local residents in 2009, Bukal has opposed the operations of MRL in Batangas since the group was born. “Large-scale mining in the area will endanger the health of Batangueños as mine tailings and other toxic substances will pollute the water systems of Mt. Banoi and Mt. Lobo, which have been vital sources of water supply in the province," Bukal spokesperson Fr. Oliver Castor said in a 2009 statement. “Once the operation reaches large extraction and production stages, it will surely be a blow to the rich biodiversity of forest and marine ecosystems in Batangas," Castor added. MRL on Monday reported that in the Lobo and Arcanghel sites, the company has identified 22 porphyry copper-gold prospects. Porphyrys are vast amounts of low-grade ore that are worked on a large scale at low cost. Meanwhile, in its Agata nickel-cobalt project in Agusan del Norte, the company has estimated mineral resources of 32.6 million dry metric tons at 1.04 percent nickel and 0.05 percent cobalt. MRL president Tony Climie reported that drilling the American Tunnels project in Agata has confirmed potentials for near-surface gold and deeper porphyry copper-gold. The company ships the Agata ores to Japan, Australia, and China. The breakdown of MRL’s million-dollar allotment is as follows: $6.3 million for scoping and pre-feasibility to feasibility studies on the integrated Agata nickel project; $1.9 million drilling for regional nickel exploration targets; $1.3 million for drilling gold, and copper and gold targets; and $1.2 million for corporate costs and working capital. — With Paterno Esmaquel II/VS, GMANews.TV