Two mining companies get DENR exploratory permits

By Jonathan L. Mayuga
Correspodndent / Business Mirror/
10/15/06

THE Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) has approved the issuance of three exploration permits to two firms to explore gold, copper and other mineral deposits in Surigao del Norte and Batangas.

Environment Secretary Angelo Reyes said one exploration permits (EP) was issued to MRL Gold Philippines and while two permits were issued to Egerton Gold Phils. Inc.

Reyes said the two companies have complied with the requirements set under the Mining Act of 1995 and all existing rules and regulations.

The two companies presented their project presentations last week, Reyes said.

“After hearing their project presentations last week, I am convinced that these exploration projects can spur development in the host areas once substantial mineral reserves are found,” he said. He ordered the director of the DENR Mines and Geosciences Bureau (MGB) to issue the EPs to MRL and Egerton pursuant to existing procedure, particularly Memorandum Order No. 2005-020 which pertains to the issuance of exploration permits by virtue of Department Resources administrative Order No. 2005-15.

The EP to be issued to MRL covers 316 hectares in the municipality of Malimono, Surigao del Norte, while Egerton has a combined area of 6,980 hectares covered by two EP applications in the towns of Lobo and San Juan in Batangas.

The approval of the exploration permits, according to Reyes, sends a clear signal to foreign and local investors that the government’s revitalization program for mining is on track.

“We continue to address the concerns of various stakeholders, specifically with regards to social equity and environmental protection,” he said.

According to Reyes, the two companies’ EP applications were approved based on the track records of the companies and their “seriousness” in engaging in mining operation.

The DENR chief said MRL and Egerton are both financially and technically capable and have shown a sense of corporate social responsibility.

MRL Gold is a corporation registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission, 99.9 percent of which is, owned by the Mindoro Resources Ltd., a Canadian company. Egerton, on the other hand, is a Filipmo corporation with 40-percent Australian equity.

In 2000, MRL signed an operating agreement with Egerton to explore its mineral claims.

MRL Gold has been operating in the Philippines for more than 10 years. Formed in 1996 focusing on Southeast Asian countries like Myanmar, Indonesia, Malaysia and the Philippines, the company decided to shift its entire focus on the Philippines because of the country’s great technical potential.

MRL Gold president Tony Climie told reporters during a press briefing that the company is seriously considering putting in substantial investment in the Philippines, noting the support investors in the mining industry are getting from the government.