RTG Mining starts drilling in Agusan

MANILA, Philippines - Australia-listed RTG Mining has started drilling operations in its Bunawan gold prospect in Agusan del Sur to confirm the presence of high-grade mineral deposits.

According the company, diamond drilling has commenced on 677 hectares of land area covered by exploration permit no. 033-XIII.

An initial program of 3, 300 meters of diamond drilling would be conducted within the exploration area.

The drill program would cover areas where site investigation programs — detailed mapping, rock chip sampling, ground magnetic survey and stream sediment sampling — had already been conducted.

“The results of this initial reconnaissance drilling will be used to develop a detailed exploration program going forward based on the style of mineralization intersected,” the company said.

RTG Mining gained access to the Bunawan project after its merger with Australian miner Sierra Mining Limited in June.

The Bunawan prospect, seen to contain high grade gold, is located next to the high grade Co-O mine owned by Medusa Mining Limited in the municipality of Bunawan in Agusan del Sur province.

RTG Mining is composed of the management team that partnered with B2B Gold – for CGA Mining Limitefor the development and operation of the Masbate  mine.

The company said previous site investigation in the Bunawan exploration area “identified several highly prospective areas and walk-up drill targets.”

The Mines and Geosciences Bureau (MGB) lifted in March 2013 the two-year moratorium on the acceptance of applications for exploration permits.

The MGB stopped accepting all types of mining permit applications beginning January 2011 until its lifting on March 18, 2013.

While the moratorium was in place, the MGB cleansed the list of applications of unqualified developers and projects to retain only investors and developers with the financial capability and concrete plan to pursue the project.

The government also raised the capitalization requirements for developers as well as the filing fees to weed out speculators who use mining permits to influence stock prices.

The MGB said there were permit holders in the past who hold on to permits but do not develop their tenements.

A moratorium on the granting of new mining contracts, however, stays pending the legislation of a new industry revenue-sharing scheme with the government.

In consideration of key industry players that may have to stop operations should resources in their respective tenements run out soon, the government recently allowed the expansion of existing contract areas provided that the areas applied for contain viable mineral deposits and the expansion is determined to be crucial to mine’s survival.