Marcventures’ active mine areas only 4.1% of total tenement

Marcventures Mining and Development Corporation (MMDC), a subsidiary of listed firm Marcventures Holdings, Inc. (MARC), is taking things slow in its mining operations. And that's just how the government likes it.

As the government mulls to require progressive rehabilitation in mining, MMDC came out with a statement, saying that of its entire mine site, only 4.1 percent has been disturbed so far. MMDC's tenement covers around 4,799 hectares of land.

The active mine area consists of Pili, Sipangpang, and Cabangahan, which together account for 198.06 hectares as of the third quarter of 2017.

In total, the company has 5.4 percent disturbed areas when its mine stockyards, haulage road and settling ponds and campsite are taken into account.

MMDC's statement came a few days after Environment Secretary Roy Cimatu reiterated that he wants to push for progressive rehabilitation in order to prevent miners to extensively disturb the environment during their operations.

As part of this, the government will limit the actual area that could be mined out in all mining areas at any point in time.

Wilfredo Moncano, the director of Mines and Geosciences Bureau (MGB), said they are set to release a set of guidelines on this.

"We are creating a new guideline for surface mines, especially nickel mines or surface open-pit mines, to try to limit the actual area that is being mined out at any time. Now, mining companies can just work anywhere within their mine sites," Moncano said earlier.

The guidelines, which is set to be issued, will only allow miners to operate within 81 hectares of their contract area before they can move to another portion of their mine site.

As of now, MMDC said its undisturbed remains expansive at 95.3 percent of the total size of its Mineral Production Sharing Agreement (MPSA), spanning the Surigao del Sur towns of Carrascal, Cantilan and Madrid.

As early as 2015, Marcventures has voluntarily delineated a total of 1,225 hectares as no-mining zones. The delineated zones consist of critical water bodies and ecologically-sensitive areas.

MMDC has a total partially rehabilitated area of 188.56 hectares since it started commercial operations in 2012.

Last year, MHI has approved a merger with Asia Pilot Mining Philippines Corporation (APMPC) and BrightGreen Resources Holdings, Inc. (BHI), with MHI as the surviving entity.

APMPC is the owner of Alumina Mining Philippines, Inc. and Bauxite Resources, Inc. – properties in Samar containing bauxite, the main source of aluminum.

BHI, on the other hand, owns BrightGreen Resources Corp., which has a property contiguous to MMDC’s Surigao del Sur mine. (MBM)