NEWS

By Jonathan L. Mayuga

Is there a way to put more science to boost mining in the Philippines? Through research and development, says science and technology experts.

The Department of Science and Technology (DOST), through the Philippine Council for Industry, Energy and Emerging Technology Research and Development (PCIEERD), has been funding various research and development under its mining and minerals program to make the industry more environment friendly and sustainable.

The DOST-Caraga Regional Office and PCIEERD recently held the Better Mines Forum as part of Luwas Pilipinas, Ligtas Pilipinas S&T Caravan in Butuan City to showcase its various programs to boost mining in the Philippines.

Discussing PCIEERD’s initiatives, Engr. Raul C. Sabularse said research and development for metallic and nonmetallic minerals are being conducted by various institutions funded by the DOST.

The deputy director of PCIEERD, Sabularse said the programs include value-adding of metallic minerals—for gold, copper, nickel, iron and chromite, and rare Earth elements, such as scandium, yttrium and lanthanide series.

Sabularse, in his presentation, titled “DOST Solutions for the Mining Sector,” identified the various programs of PCIEERD.

“I cannot claim that it will be the perfect solution; it’s just an option. There are so many factors affecting mining operations. Social, cultural and political issues affect the mining industry,” he said.

PCIEERD, he said, is not doing the research but only give grants to universities to do the research.

CLINN-GEM

One such successful PCIEERD-funded research is the project dubbed CLINN-GEM, which stands for Community-led Integrated Non-Mercury Non-Cyanide Gold Extraction Method.

A project by the University of the Philippines (UP), CLINN-GEM is a product of a 10-year research in a gold mining processing technology developed, researched and tested in partnership with small-scale mining communities in four pilot areas in the Philippines.

Its implementing models are in Benguet in the Cordillera Administrative Region; Jose Panganiban, Camarines Norte, in the Bicol region; Del Pilar, Agusan del Norte, in the Caraga region; and Compostela Valley in Davao region.

Processing facility

DOST-PCIEERD, to test the technology, also funded the construction of processing facilities.

One such facility is in Barangay del Pilar, Cabadbaran City, Surigao del Norte, during the Luwas Pilipinas, Ligtas Pilinas Caravan, that was toured by media. It can process 5 tons of ores a day.

Dr. Herman Mendoza, a professor at the Department of Mining, Metallurgical and Materials Engineering in UP Diliman, told reporters his team started to conduct research and development in 2008. The UP department developed the environment-friendly gold-processing technology, including the construction of the processing facilities.

The facilities, Mendoza said, were designed to have mine wastes treated before they are disposed of.

Flotation

From 2008 to 2012, Mendoza and his team worked on developing better alternatives to amalgamation and cyanidation.

Amalgamation is the process, which uses mercury to separate gold from other minerals, while cyanidation, the most common leaching process for gold extraction, uses hydrometallurgy to extract gold from low-grade ore by converting the gold to a water-soluble coordination complex.

Mendoza’s team also developed better ways to collect gold from very fine ores, hence, resulting in a high rate of gold extraction. The CLINN-GEM technology makes use of both flotation and leaching.

Decade of work

Mendoza said the research and development compelled his team to learn from small-scale miners themselves. They conducted site visits in small-scale mining areas to identify the problems besetting the sector.

“We toured every small-scale mining area in the Philippines to learn more about the process and the problems posed by [the industry],” he said.

After developing the appropriate technology they had field testing.

“Initially, we thought of field testing in 10 pilot sites but we decided it will cost too much, so we identified four strategic areas where small-scale mining is robust,” he said in a mix of English and Filipino.

Game changer

The establishment of the gold-processing facility using the CLINN-GEM technology will be a game-changer for the small-scale mining industry, said PCIEERD Executive Director Enrico Paringit, justifying the investment made by PCIEERD for the project.

In Cabadbaran City alone, the construction of the processing facility costs around P37 million. It can process mineral ores from 5 metric tons to 15 MT, with a 40-percent gold-recovery rate, higher than the small-scale industry standard.

He said the facility was designed to prove that there is a better way of mining gold by small-scale miners.

Paringit said the use of a common facility by small-scale miners run by a team trained by Mendoza and PCIEERD’s team of experts will boost the government regulation of small-scale mining in the Philippines.

Minahang Bayan

The facilities were designed for small-scale mining stakeholders, like local government units (LGUs), people’s organization or mining cooperatives, to boost small-scale mining and ensure environmental safeguard, Paringit and Mendoza said.

But such facilities, including the technology developed through extensive research and development, will all be for naught without a Minahang Bayan where small-scale miners can legally extract gold.

Mendoza is calling on concerned authorities to work with LGUs and small-scale miners to establish Minahang Bayan as mandated by law.

Minahang Bayan is established by the LGUs through the Provincial or City Mining Regulatory Board but needs the approval of the DENR through the Mines and Geosciences Bureau (MGB), the government’s main mining regulatory body.

According to Paringit, the project’s business design models are cutout wherein the technology and the facility will be run and operated by the community, people’s organizations, small-scale mining cooperatives or LGUs themselves.

Illegal mining

There is a direct link between illegal small-scale mining activities and lack of Minahang Bayan, where a processing facility should be built under government rules and regulations, particularly Executive Order 79.

In the Caraga region alone, according to the Mines and Geosciences Bureau, Caraga Regional Office, there are 465 illegal small-scale mining operations and 87 illegal mineral processing plants.

This is because there are only three Minahang Bayan and only one approved mineral processing plant in the region.

There are also 19 Minahang Bayan applications pending for approval, while 25 applications have been denied.

Monitoring production, reducing health impacts

More important, Paringit said the establishment of processing plants in Minahang Bayan would also help the government monitor gold production. This will help increase the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas’s gold purchases, which continue to experience steep drop as early as 2012 because small-scale gold miners opt to sell to the black market for a higher price and to avoid taxes.

Mendoza’s team assessed that the small-scale mining industry in 30 provinces contributes about 70 percent to 80 percent of the country’s gold production.

Worse, because of inefficient gold-processing technique mostly done in “backyard-processing plants” where wastes are dumped anywhere, the health risks to people and the environment are high.

Globally, the small-scale mining industry is responsible for approximately 37 percent of mercury-emission and the largest source of air and water pollution, Mendoza said.

Paringit said currently, the facility in Cabadbaran City is being operated by the Caraga State University. Hopefully, he said, they can finalize the transfer of “ownership” to its would-be user soon.

“The concept is for this facility to be a common facility where small-scale miners can bring their ores for processing. It can be run by local communities, or by LGUs,” he said.

As such, he said the establishment of Minahang Bayan could be complemented by the environment-friendly gold extraction technology developed through funding by the DOST-PCIEERD.

According to Paringit, PCIEERD and its partners are willing to provide the training to LGUs and small-scale miners on how to operate such facility—which are all a result of putting more science to mining through research and development.

Source: Business Mirror