ILOILO CITY-The Mines and Geosciences Bureau (MGB) in Western Visayas said prospects for the resumption of mining in Sipalay City, Negros Occidental are bright with the value of copper deposits estimated to reach around P47.6 billion.

Leo Van Juguan, MGB regional director, said the increasing price of copper could encourage the Maricalum Mining Corp. to reopen its cooper mines in Barangay San Jose.

Maricalum's mines have an estimated 400 million tons of copper ore, which could yield P47.6 billion at the current price of $1.5 per pound.

Juguan said the reopening would be viable for Maricalum because the company has an existing plant and pieces of equipment. He said the estimated cost of reviving the mines could reach around P300 million.

The mines, which started operating in 1957, were closed on July 1, 2001, because of a labor dispute and complaints of environmental pollution. The closure left more than 5,000 miners jobless.

Philex Gold Phils, Inc. another large-scale mining firm, closed its gold mine in Barangay Nabulao on July 1, 2002.

There has been no large-scale mining operation in Western Visayas since the closure of the Sipalay mines.

According to a press release from the MGB, a resolution passed by the Sipalay City Council on April 21 said there was still "a considerable volume of gold and copper deposits underneath the vast mining areas."

Mining operations are among the major revenue earners of Western Visayas. Small-scale mining, quarry, and sand and gravel operations netted P142.8 million last year, MGB records showed.Mineral production in Western Visayas peaked around 15 years ago, when mineral production poured in P3.9 billion to the local economy.

It dropped to P1.5 billion in 1995, but increased to P1.7 billion in 2000.