Copper, gold and nickel are among the country’s major mineral reserves that require more investments even as some investors have already started to come in as part of the US$8 billion expected to be generated by 24 major mining projects in the next five to six years.

In a speech delivered during the Prospectors and Developers Association of Canada (PDAC) 2006 International Convention, a Mining Investment Show held last March 7, 2006 at the Metro Toronto Convention Center in Toronto, Canada, Department of Environment and Natural Resources Angelo T. Reyes said that the copper production in the Philippines could increase to over 500 thousand tons annually by 2013 with the development of the major projects now in the pipeline.

Reyes pointed to Tampakan Project of Sagitarrius Mines and Indophil as having an estimated over a billion tons of copper-gold deposit located in Mindanao.

He likewise cited the Boyongan copper-gold porphyry project, also located in Mindanao, as having over 200 million tons of reserve as well as Far Southeast Project in Luzon containing 600 million tons ore body of copper-porphyry deposit.

With regards to gold, Reyes disclosed that projects now under exploration in the country are expected to result to gold production amounting to over 70 tons annually. He also pointed out the best gold projects under the National Resources Mining Development Corporation, a state-owned corporation.

On nickel, the DENR chief said that the country is expected to be a major nickel producer once the nickel projects are operational by 2011.

“We are projecting a total of 206,000 tons of nickel metal coming from the large lateritic deposits, which can now be economically mined and treated by High Pressure Acid Leach (HPAL) process.”

HPAL process is a metallurgical technology of separating nickel sulfides from the gangue materials in the ore. Nickel sulfides produced by the process contains 52%-55% nickel.

The nickel sulfides produced from the process are exported to Japan for further processing to produce nickel nodules.

Reyes also disclosed that Sumitomo of Japan has put up a 10,000-ton plant in western Philippines which will double its capacity by 2007 while Jinchuan Metals, the largest nickel producer of China, has already signed a letter of intent towards investing in the country US$1 billion to re-open the Nonoc Mines and produce 40,000 tons per nickel metal in mixed sulfides. (DENR Public Affairs Office)

March 21, 2006