Demand for mineral resources on the rise

Cebu's economy continues to grow and with it an increase in infrastructure projects in the province.

But the mining sector is reportedly having a hard time in coping up with the construction demands, said engineer Armando Malicse, regional chief of the Mines and Geosciences Bureau's mine safety, environment and social development.

He said there is a high demand for mineral resources, which are extracted and processed into cement and steel, among others, nowadays.

These resources are vital in the construction industry, he said.

Seven years ago, Malicse recalled that cement products are piling up in warehouses because firms still have to find buyers. Now, cement producers are receiving bulk orders from construction companies.

Malicse said the situation is even made more challenging with the government's "Build, Build, Build" program, a centerpiece of the administration's claim to reduce poverty incidence from today's 21.6 percent to 14 percent by 2022.

The program is designed to modernize the country's infrastructure backbone by rolling out 75 flagship projects with a combined worth of $36 billion in investments. Also, it seeks to uplift the lives of more than six million Filipinos to set the economy securely on the road to upper middle income status by 2022 and to a high-income one by 2040.

Projects spurting out in numerous locations in Cebu like the Mactan-Cebu International Airport's Terminal 2 and the CebuCordova Bridge are part of the program.

With the increasing infrastructure projects, Malicse said though the supply of mineral resources is still significantly high.

But he said mining operations should be geared towards "sustainable development" during yesterday's Plant and Quarry Tour," an event spearheaded by MGB-7 in observance of the Environment Month.

"Development should not compromise the needs of the future generation," he said.

The mining and cement manufacturing industries, on the other hand, are adopting measures like importation to meet their daily production rate.

Engineer Samuel Tagsip, division operations manager of the Solid Earth Development Corporation-a mining company, said the firm's fixed production rate per year is at two million.

But he said the company's local production of limestone and other raw materials can only achieve one million, so it has to import the remaining one million from Japan and Korea.

Cement manufacturing firm, Taihieyo Cement Philippines, Inc., is also planning to expand its cement production by establishing a new cement line or plant, which would take about three years to finish.

Engineer Romeo Gebilaguin, environment and safety manager of Taihieyo, said the company is already applying for an expansion but is still working on the requirements.

He said the company targets to increase its production to 16,350 cement bags per day from the current 7,350.

Cebu has four cement manufacturing firms, including Taihieyo. —

KBQ

May B. Miasco/