DENR okays resumption of Rapu-Rapu operations

Environment and Natural Resources Secretary Jose L. Atienza has given the go-signal approval for the resumption of the operations of the Rapu-Rapu polymetallic project under its new owners.

Atienza said he signed the approval so that “they can resume anytime soon, we gave them the clearance already.”

In granting its clearance, the DENR had imposed a few conditions that included the payment of the proper excise taxes, funding of the required environmental trust fund (ETF), rehabilitation cash fund (RCF) and monitoring trust fund (MTF), ensuring approval of the Final Mine Rehabilitation and/or decommissioning plan and clearance from the local government units.

“After I got assurances of compliance with, explaining to local governments concerned, assurances of environmental protection and having done that, getting local government units’ information that they are indeed satisfied with the assurance of the new company, we issued the clearance already,” Atienza said.

The project has been suspended since 2006.

The new owners of the Rapu-Rapu mine have invested between $40 million to $50 million to upgrade the facilities of the mine site located on Rapu-Rapu island, Albay.

Dr. Mohammad Ajib Anuar, chief executive officer of the Malaysian Smelting Corp. (MSC) which acquired 30 percent of the Rapu-Rapu polymetallic Project in partnership with the LG Group of Korea and Kores (the investment arm of the Korean Government) which controls 70 percent of the project through holding company Philco Resources Ltd., earlier said that the new group hopes to recommission the processing plant by August.

Anuar said targeted annual production is about 10,000 tons of copper ore; 50,000 ounces of gold; 600,000 ozs. of silver and 14,000 tons of zinc.

Philco and MSC acquired the Rapu-Rapu polymetallic project from Australia’s Lafayette Mining Ltd.

LG and Kores, through their joint venture company Philco, and MSC reached an agreement with Lafayette last March to purchase the latter’s 74-percent stake in Lafayette Philippines Inc. (LPI).

The consortium reportedly paid an initial $18 million to Lafayette.

LPI owns 99.9 percent of Rapu-Rapu Polymetallic Inc. which holds a mineral processing permit (MPP) from the DENR.

At the same time, LPI also controls 40 percent of RRMI which holds the mineral production sharing agreement (MPSA) for the Rapu-Rapu mine.

The purchase was finalized on April 21 this year.

Lafayette gave up the Rapu-Rapu project following a mine tailings spill that forced the Australian mining firm to shut down operations of the copper and zinc mine.

The shutdown resulted in heavy financial losses to Lafayette which eventually opted to sell its stake in the Rapu-Rapu project to the Korean and Malaysian consortium.