The Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) has allowed the Rapu-Rapu Polymetallic Project to ship out the remaining mineral concentrates produced during the test run. The company, however, cannot still undertake commercial production.

DENR Secretary Angelo T. Reyes on Friday said he has issued the clearance to issue an Ore Transport Permit (OTP) for 706 metric tons of copper concentrate and 1,304 metric tons of zinc concentrate, which were part of those incidentally produced by the Albay-based project of Lafayette Philippines, Inc. during its 120-day test run.

Reyes said he cleared the issuance of the OTP because the mineral products to be transported came from the approved Declaration of Mining Feasibility of Lafayette’s Mineral Production Sharing Agreement (MPSA).

“The copper and zinc concentrates to be shipped are part of the remaining inventory that were incidentally produced during the DENR-sanctioned test run, pursuant to pertinent orders issued by the Pollution Adjudication Board (PAB),” Reyes said

The DENR earlier issued an OTP for 807 metric tons of copper concentrates to the company.

Reyes said the OTP also provided that the company shall pay the necessary production and shipment taxes. “This means additional revenues for the host local government units,” the DENR chief said.

Mines and Geosciences Bureau Director Horacio C. Ramos clarified that the DENR has not allowed Lafayette to undertake commercial production during its 120-day test run.

Ramos said that the 120-day test run included the first three-stage 30-day test run, which allotted five days for water test, 10 days for non-ore test, and 15 days for ore testing; followed by a 60-day extension and another 30-day extension. Overall, only 105 days were allotted for ore testing.

“Of the 105 days allocated for ore testing, only 70 days were utilized due to shutdowns normal to startup operations, including the interruptions caused by the three typhoons that affected the area.”

Ramos said the volume of mineral concentrations produced by Lafayette during the test run were far below commercial level, stressing that they were only “incidental production” during the test-run.

“During the 70-day actual ore-testing by the company, only 126,000 MT of ore were processed at a feed grade of 0.982% copper and 1.678% zinc, producing 1,576 MT of copper concentrates and 1,304 MT of zinc. No other metals or metallic concentrates were produced during the test-run,” Ramos said.

At normal commercial operations, the company would have processed 315,000MT of ore for 105-day operation to produce about 14,000 MT of copper concentrate and 6,500 MT of zinc concentrate.

Ramos also said the project needed to test at its full-rated capacity of 3,000MT per day in order for the company and the government to determine the viability of its mill, its detoxification system and all environmental structures attached to the operation.

“The objective of the test-run is essentially to test whether or not it can pass our environmental standards at its optimum production, and that can only be determined if we allow them to test its full-rated capacity,” the MGB chief said.

He said MGB metallurgists and mining engineers were assigned on-site throughout the 120-day test-run to monitor the daily operations of the project particularly its environmental compliance.

DENR suspended the operations of Rapu-rapu mine in November 2005 after two accidental mine spills on October 11 and 31 of the same year. The company is now seeking a permanent lifting order for the project to be able to commercially operate.

January 23, 2007