UK mining executives bullish on Nueva Vizcaya venture

SOLANO, Nueva Vizcaya – Executives of a London-based mining company remain bullish on their prospects in this mineral-rich, landlocked province where they are currently undertaking exploration work despite the ongoing standoff between the provincial government and another foreign mining firm.

Executives of Metals Exploration (Metex), British parent company of MTL Philippines, said they are even more positive about their exploration project in Runruno, Quezon town, saying their findings during their on-site inspection were “highly encouraging” and bid well for the possible start of commercial mining operations in the near future.

Jonathan Beardsworth, Metex chief executive officer, said this positive development could in a way downplay the ongoing “crisis” between the province and OceanaGold Philippines in Didipio village in Kasibu town.

Beardsworth, however, clarified that he believes that investors would in the end consider the problems in Didipio as case-specific rather than having an effect on the entire mining industry in the country.

“We find the Philippines a very suitable place for the mining business since the people are friendly, the government is a democracy and follows the rule of law, which is not common in some places where the mining industry operates. We are definitely bullish on our investments in this area,” he said. 

The standoff between the provincial government and OceanaGold, contracted by the national government to manage its Didipio venture, the region’s first large-scale mining project now on its construction phase, stemmed from the refusal of the company to pay quarry fees and taxes to the province.

Like Runruno, Barangay Didipio is a remote, mineral-rich village where the national government and OceanaGold’s P117-million project is located.

“As a whole, the industry considers the country as a very positive site for mining investment,” Beardsworth said, adding that they consider the Mining Act of 1995 an excellent piece of legislation that meets the international standards of the mining industry.

He said they are closely watching the developments in Didipio so they would know what to do in case their project here, particularly in Runruno, would reach the stage of development as that of the Didipio gold-copper project.

Beardsworth, however, refused to make further comment on the issue, saying they might not be able to give a constructive view as OceanaGold and their company belong to the same sector.

“It is difficult to comment on the matter, since we are also from the mining industry. Our statements might be misconstrued by our competitors,” said Beardsworth, who, along with three other Metex executives, were here over the weekend to monitor the progress of their company’s ongoing multimillion-peso exploration work in Runruno.

Besides the Runruno project, MTL, also known as FCF Minerals, was recently granted two more exploration permits by the Mines and Geosciences Bureau covering 14,000 hectares in the towns of Solano, Villaverde, Bagabag and Dupax del Norte.

The Quezon municipal government led by Mayor Aurelio Salunat has endorsed the new exploration activities of MTL and the eventual conversion of its exploration work in Runruno to the commercial phase.