DENR-Region 11 OIC Regional Director for Mines Edilberto Arreza said he is now implementing the closure of the area to the applicants for Mineral Production Sharing Agreement (MPSA), Financial and Technical Assistance Agreement (FTAA), and Exploration Permit (EP), in preparation for the declaration of the area as a mineral reservation to ensure proper utilization of the mineral and prevent similar environmental pollution that occurred in Mt. Diwalwal.

He said he is expecting a Department Administrative Order (DAO) to be issued shortly to fully implement the closure.

Arreza said once the Calinawan gold rush area becomes a mineral reservation, it will be placed under the control of the government and MGB will then determine who will be allowed to operate in the area.

The MGB chief in Region 11 also said that investigation report of the MGB team he sent to monitor the operations of small-scale miners in Mt. Ayag showed indiscriminate cutting of trees and improper disposal of tailings into the nearby Yamangbang and Caupian creeks, both tributaries of Ayag River which in turn discharges into the Casauman River.

Information gathered by the MGB team from the gold ore millers in the area showed that the miners were able to extract 2-15 grams of gold from every 30 kilos of gold ore they process. Small-scale miners and gold panners in the area sell their gold for P500-P600 per gram at present.

“If it is true that they are extracting that much gold from the ore, it means that the area is high grade, because an ore is considered high-grade if the assay result for gold is at least 10 grams per ton,” Arreza said. Assaying is a technical term for a chemical procedure by which the gold in the ore is determined.

“But we still have to conduct a detailed geological evaluation in the area including mapping and sampling in order to really determine the potential of the area”, Arreza added.