2012 - Issue 4

The PhilippinesAsia’s Next Tiger?

Philippine Resources

Mining Versus Tourism

Of Bangsamoro and other musings

Philippine Capital Markets

Running Hot

Mining, Petroleum & Energy Journal Issue 4 2012, November - January

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Current Resources

Headlines in this issue

Resources Commentary

8 Of Bangsamoro And Other Musings

14 Should it be a choice between mining and tourtism?

16 Aquino receives offer of mining support from Australia

Resources Investment

24 PSEi Capital-raising reaches new record levels

26 Austal’s Philippine Investment Starting To Pay Dividends

Resources Training

32 Making Good Business Better With Safety Training

Resources Spotlight

38 Meet GHD Philippines Country Manager, Anne Lavers

42 Weatherford Tasting Growing Philippine Interest

44 Cadan Celebrates T’Boli Gold Start-up

50 PMSEA To Reaffirm Commitment To Responsible Mining At Annual Conference

4 Philippine Resources

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Mining, Petroleum& Energy Journal

Issue 4 2012November- January 2012

Mining Rule Uncertainty

Major Concern For Asia’s New Tiger

During his recent visit to Australia, Philippine President Benigno S. Aquino III, told an audience of distinguished businessman that the country has been transformed from its position of

being the ‘Sick Man of Asia’ to ‘Asia’s Next Tiger.’’

That was no idle boast. There is no doubt that the present government has done a remarkable job to create a growing economy in the face of one of the world’s most dire economic periods.

And the Australian and New Zealand businessmen seemed to like what they heard as the President is returning home with a full bag of potential opportunities for new investment in the country.

The country has recently received a positive tick from the World Bank for its current financial status, not an easy achievement at the best of times.

The Philippines received even more kudos recently when the London-headquartered Economist Intelligence Unit ranks it as one of the best places for micro-financing in the world.

The country was again named one of the countries with the most favourable environ-ment for micro enterprises, rising two places to 4th among 55 countries surveyed by the EIU.

The EIU said that regulations imposed by government entities like the Central Bank helped the Philippines remain in the top 10 countries with the most micro business-friendly environments.

The government has also received widespread applause for its work in the lead-up to the recent historic signing of the Framework Agreement between the government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front.

The only dark cloud, and it is a very dark cloud, is the uncertainty created by the failure to finalise new mining regulations. There is nothing that scares off investors quicker than uncertainty over what the rules are.

Hopefully the government will act with the same steady hand it has had on the eco-nomic tiller and come up with legislation that will be fair to all parties and attractive to future investors. ■



T he Framework Agreement on the Bangsamoro (“Framework”) signed between the Republic of

the Philippines and the Moro Islamic

Liberation Front is a major milestone not just for the ongoing peace process and reconciliation in Mindanao, but also for the improvement of the economic conditions of the area.

The signing of the Framework shall serve as an invitation for investors to take a second look at the potential wealth of Mindanao’s natural resources once the region is stabilized and ready for eco-nomic utilization. Peace and order will bring in the entry of investments in power generation, transmission lines, and mineral and energy exploration and development projects.

The agreement consists of several sub-jects which shall serve as the preparatory skeletal framework for the eventual crea-tion of a new entity, the Bangsamoro. While the constitutionality of the Frame-work is presumed, it will be subject to future challenges on issues questioning its legality and validity.

The negotiators share the belief that, unlike the Memorandum of Agreement on the Ancestral Domain, the Philippine Government will not cede or surrender ownership and possession of certain ter-ritorial lands.

The Framework discusses the govern-mental and administrative aspects to be delegated to the Bangsamoro, which will remain part of the Philippines where the Philippine government will continue to exercise its power, authority and sover-eignty.

Barring any potential legal obstacles, the Framework may yet be the single biggest achievement of the Aquino Administra-tion that will spur long lasting stability and economic growth in Mindanao un-til such time that the Final Peace Agree-ment is signed.

The Bangsamoro government shall be vested with exclusive powers to create its sources of wealth in the region. As suc-cinctly provided in the Framework, “con-

Of Bangsamoro And Other MusingsBy Fernando Penarroyo

Continued on page 10 >


Fernando “Ronnie” Penarroyo is the Managing Partner of Puno and Penarroyo Law Offices.




sistent with the Bangsamoro Basic Law, the Bangsamoro will have the power to create its own sources of revenues and to levy taxes, fees, and charges, subject to limitations as may be mutually agreed upon by the Parties. This power shall in-clude the power to determine tax bases and tax rates, guided by the principles of devolution of power, equalization, equity, accountability, administrative simplicity, harmonization, economic ef-ficiency, and fiscal autonomy.”

The ability to create its own internal rev-enue code may prove to be both advan-tageous and disadvantageous. On one hand, the Bangsamoro legislative body can provide for less bureaucratic pro-cesses of implementing and paying tax schedules, entice investments by provid-ing tax breaks and incentives as well as favorable tax treatments, prescribe tax rates, and provide for its own tariffs and customs code governing importation.

On the other hand, the creation of a tax law may not be as efficient as anticipated if obstacles would come from the numer-ous vested and powerful interests that will represent the legislative body caus-ing a stalemate over important provi-sions of the law.

Needless to say, the implementation of the tax laws shall be left to the sole au-thority of the Bangsamoro, following the provisions of the Framework on the ex-clusive powers of the Bangsamoro gov-ernment.

Equitable share of resources

More importantly, the Bangsamoro gov-ernment shall have just and equitable share in the revenue generated through the exploration, development, or utiliza-tion of natural resources obtaining in all the areas/territories of the Bangsamoro based on an agreement on the revenue and wealth sharing with the Philippine government.

The Bangsamoro can enter into resourc-es exploration contracts and control the flow of revenue through its different tax provisions as well as financial mecha-nisms while the Philippine government gets its share in the revenue income that the Bangsamoro will raise.

Resource developers will then have to be guided as to what legal and regulatory framework will be followed on intended future investments in Bangsamoro.

Should Imperial Manila continue to grant exploration permits, mining agree-ments, petroleum service contracts, coal operating agreements, renewable energy service contracts and other form of re-sources agreements over areas located in Bangsamoro under the fiscal regimes of energy presidential decrees, the Mining Act of 1995, the Renewable Energy Act of 2008, the Foreign Investments Act of 1991 and other related laws?

And in relation thereto, can the Bangsam-oro veto resources projects of national significance or interest? Is the Regalian Doctrine enshrined under the Philippine Constitution applicable to Bangsamoro?

The Bangsamoro agreement will also have repercussions on the just recently concluded Philippine Energy Contract-ing Round (“PECR”) No. 4 for petrole-um, which included among other areas, Area 12 – Cotabato Basin. Covering an onshore area of 456,000 hectares where around 820 line-km of 2D seismic has been acquired and five wells drilled, the Cotabato Basin has an estimated mean total risked recoverable resource (ex-cluding speculative unmapped resourc-es) of ~ 71 MMbbl oil and 312 Bcf gas, according to the Department of Energy (“DOE”). About 1 billion cubic meter of natural gas in the Sultan-sa-Barongis structure is considered potential re-sources.

Will the Bangsamoro honor the service contract of the winning bidder or pro-ceed to look for another contractor? The same goes with the service contracts cov-

ering the Sulu Sea particularly areas in offshore Sulu and Sabah.

Resource developers will be closely monitoring the preparatory work on the drafting of the annexes to the framework agreement and the law that will govern a new Bangsamoro region that will be drafted by a 15-man Transition Commis-sion.

* * * * * * * *

Professor Marvic M.V.F. Leonen, former dean of the University of the Philippines College of Law and noted indigenous peoples rights and anti-mining advocate may be appointed Justice of the Supreme Court by President Benigno Aquino as a reward for negotiating the Bangsamoro agreement.

It should be remembered that Dean Leo-nen represented the petitioners in the La Bugal-B’Laan Tribal Association vs. Ramos (01 December 2004), which ques-tioned the constitutionality of the Philip-pine Mining Act of 1995 and argued for an intervenor in the case of Cruz vs. Sec. of Environment and Natural Resources (06 December 2000), which questioned the constitutionality of IPRA.

If appointed, Prof. Leonen will join an-other colleague from UP Law, Chief Jus-tice Lourdes Aranal-Sereno. CJ Sereno by the way, co-authored in 1983 with now IBP President Roan Libarios, an article published in the Philippine Law Journal entitled “The Interface Between National Land Law and Kalinga Land Law” recommending recognition of an-cestral land rights, protection of indig-enous system of land ownership, and promotion of the indigenous mode of settling land dispute.

IPRA was upheld on a technicality re-sulting from a 7-7 deadlock vote among the SC justices so if ever the law is chal-lenged again, we have CJ Sereno and a possible J Leonen in the bench.

< Continued from page 8




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* * * * * * * *

The 2013 national and local elections are upon us and mining is expected to become a hot election issue. In South Cotabato candidates are being measured according to where they stand on the $5.9 billion stalled Tampakan copper-and-gold mining project by Xstrata Plc’s Philippine-unit, Sagittarius Mines, Inc. where candidates have been branded as either anti or pro mining, which could affect the way they handle their cam-paigns.

In Nueva Vizcaya on the other hand, en-vironmentalists are not comfortable over some politicians’ apparent campaign platforms riding on the anti-mining sen-timent in the province as a move to win votes in next year’s elections.

In the meantime President Benigno Aquino said he wants to wait for the passage of a mining taxation reform law before approving the Tampakan mining project. Sagittarius has asked Aquino to reverse the Department of Environment and Natural Resources’ decision not to issue an environmental compliance cer-tificate for the project.

In Leyte, the much-anticipated political showdown between the Romualdez and Petilla families in Leyte is not going to happen as Chamber of Mines President, Benjamin Philip G. Romualdez will not be throwing his hat to the gubernato-rial race against Leopoldo Dominico L. Petilla.

In response, incumbent Leyte Governor Carlos Jericho L. Petilla dropped his plan to challenge Ferdinand Martin G. Romualdez to represent the first district. Gov. Petilla is being groomed instead to be the next DOE Secretary replacing Sec. Rene Almendras who is reportedly head-ing off to Malacanang to be designated as head of the Presidential Management Staff.

The good news is that Mr. Romualdez will still be available to lead the local mining industry, which he described in

the recent mining conference as “at a crossroads”. Secretary Almendras’ pro-motion will also help the energy indus-try as it has somebody to push the paper works in the Palace when energy issues are under deliberation.

His push is also needed to coordinate the often times dysfunctional relationship between the energy and environment de-partments.

* * * * * * * *

The DOE has concluded the bidding round for petroleum exploration under PECR 4 in July but no service contract has been awarded to the winning bid-ders yet.

It seems that the initial expectation of a warm reception from the international petroleum industry on the bidding round did not materialize, as the big boys pre-fer to remain in the sideline.

Despite numerous roadshows conducted in Australia, Singapore, and Italy, no bids came from the major petroleum explora-tion firms. The reason could be the still unresolved territorial dispute with China over portions of the West Philippine Sea where the main petroleum prospects are located.

* * * * * * * *

Kudos to the quiet and diligent work and collaboration done by a team which in-cludes scientists and legal experts from my alma mater, the University of the Philippines (“UP”) through the National Institute of Geological Sciences and the Institute of International Legal Studies of the UP College of Law.

The team was responsible for the recog-nition of Philippine jurisdiction over the Benham Rise Region, which is the Phil-ippines’ first successful validation of a claim in accord with the 1982 Law of the Sea Convention.

It is the first major expansion of the Phil-ippines’ maritime boundaries since the

late 1970s when it declared its exclusive economic zone.

The DOE is set to conduct seismic sur-veys to determine the oil and gas poten-tial of Benham Rise, with the possibility of including the area in the next contract-ing round for petroleum exploration in PECR 5.

The Benham Rise is believed to be rich in natural gas and manganese nodules and is reportedly being eyed by a number of interested bidders.

* * * * * * * *

President Benigno Aquino III capped his recent state visit to New Zealand by wit-nessing the signing of a bilateral agree-ment entered into by Philippine Foreign Affairs Secretary Albert Del Rosario and New Zealand Minister of Foreign Af-fairs Murray McCully meant to provide a government-to-government framework to support geothermal development be-tween the two countries.

The agreement aims to build more com-petence for human resources at the DOE through scholarships and development of opportunities not just for investment but also for transfer of technology.

Foreign Minister McCully believes that both countries are well placed to de-velop business opportunities around the world, including in Indonesia and South America.

Fernando “Ronnie” Penarroyo is the Managing Partner of Puno and Penar-royo Law Offices ([email protected]).

He specializes in Energy, Resources and Environmental Law, Business De-velopment and Project Finance. He is a trustee of the International Geothermal Association, the National Geothermal Association of the Philippines and the Philippine Mineral Exploration Asso-ciation. ■




< Continued on page 16

Should it be a choice between mining and tourism?By Patricia A. O. Bunye

Section 1 of Executive Order No. 79 (“EO 79”) provides that, among the areas closed to mining

applications are tourism development areas as identified in the National Tourism Development Plan (“NTDP”).

However, under Section 3 of EO 79’s Implementing Rules and Regulations, as embodied in Department Adminis-trative Order No. 2012-07 (“DAO 2012-07”), “tourism development areas” refer to specific tourism sites within an area, including its attendant landscapes, iden-tified in national and local tourism de-velopment plans, as well as those desig-nated through legislative and executive issuances, to be developed into Tourism Enterprise Zones, tourism complexes, integrated resorts, leisure and recreation centers, and other tourism related facili-ties and activities.

Not only is the definition of “tourism de-velopment areas” found in Section 3 of DAO 2012-07 an expansion of what EO

79 provides, i.e., that tourism develop-ment areas must be actually be identified in the NTDP, Section 1 of EO 79 itself is an expansion of the areas closed to min-ing provided in Republic Act 7942, the Philippine Mining Act of 1995 (“Mining Act”).

While Section 1 of EO 79 was revised to include a definition of “expired mining tenements”, the aforementioned defini-tion of “tourism development areas” remains, and unless and until EO 79 is invalidated, it is something we will have to live with.

On 05 May 2012, during the 45th Annual Meeting of the Board of Governors of the Asian Development Bank, the NTDP was unveiled, calling for a total invest-ment of P265 billion from 2011-2016, for the country to be able to reach its target arrivals of 10 million international and 35.5 million domestic tourists by 2016.

In this regard, the Department of Tour-ism has listed 78 “existing and emerging tourism development areas” that will be ostensibly protected from mining activi-ties. [Please refer to the attachment]

Notably, based on the NTDP, these “tourism development areas” are not de-lineated nor do they pertain to specific locations in a city or region. For instance, in Central Luzon, the NTDP names Pam-panga, Nueva Ecija, Zambales Coast, among others.

Based on the massive areas designated for tourism development, and which are consequently “no-go” zones for mining, an argument could be made by anti-min-ing advocates that practically the entire Philippines is a “tourism development area” closed to mining.

Are mining and tourism mutually exclu-sive such that a choice has to be made between them?

Responsible miners do not think so, par-ticular since they are obligated under the Mining Act to rehabilitate and restore the mining areas after utilizing the same.

Under Section 69 of the Mining Act, every contractor shall undertake an envi-ronmental protection and enhancement

Patricia A. O. Bunye is a senior partner at Villaraza Cruz Marcelo & Angangco (website www.cvclaw.com). Her areas of specialization are mining and natural resources, power and energy and intellectual property (particularly IP commercialization). She may be reached at [email protected].



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program covering the period of the mineral agreement or permit.

Such environmental program shall be incorporated in the work program which the contractor or permittee shall submit as an accompanying document to the application for a mineral agreement or permit. The work program shall include not only plans relative to mining operations, but also to rehabilitation, regeneration, revegetation and reforestation of mineralized areas, slope stabilization of mined-out and tailings covered areas, aquaculture, watershed development and water conservation; and socio-economic development.

In fact, under Section 167 of the Mining Act’s IRR, during every stage of the mining operation, as well as after the termination stage thereof, all open pit work areas, underground workplaces, mine waste and tailings impoundment systems, quarry sites and

other mining-disturbed landforms, including those disturbed during exploration, shall be progressively rehabilitated to a condition prescribed in the Environmen-tal Compliance Certificate and/or Environmental Protection and Enhancement Program.

In addition, mine site decommissioning and rehabilitation shall aim to establish a land use capability that is functional and proximate to the land use prior to the disturbance of the mine area, unless other more beneficial land uses are prede-termined and agreed in partnership with local communities and local govern-ment units.

As mining is only a temporary land use, and with the safeguards provided by the Mining Act and proper implementation, mine sites can be rehabilitated and thereafter developed for tourism. There are countless examples throughout the world of these, particularly in Malaysia, New Zealand, Australia and Canada.

In Selangor, Malaysia, both the Integrated Sunway City and the Sunway Lagoon Resort, which was adjudged as the best leisure project by the International Real Estate Federation in Paris in 2002, used to form part of a tin mine.

In South Africa efforts have been made to declare certain mining areas as UNE-SCO World Heritage Sites, which means that they are of outstanding importance, either cultural or natural, to the common heritage of humankind.

It reportedly has four mining heritage-related sites on UNESCO’s Tentative List, including the Kimberley Mines and Associated Early Industries site, the site of Africa’s first significant mineral discovery, which launched their mineral revolu-tion, and the Namaqualand Copper Mining Landscape, the site of the first sus-tained modern mining operation in Southern Africa.

As the Mining Minister of South Africa will visit Baguio on the occasion of this year’s Philippine Mine Safety and Environment Association’s Annual Confer-ence to launch “South Africa Month”, it would be interesting to learn how South African tourism has been built around old and existing mines, demonstrating that it is not even necessary to wait for the end of a mine’s life in order for it to be a tourist attraction.

Nota bene: A dialogue sponsored by Diwata-Women in Resource Development, Inc. will also be held between the South Africa Mining Minister and Cordillera Women on 14 November 2012 to discuss the lessons learned from 100 years of mining in Baguio and how the South Africa experience may be instructive. ■

Continued from page 14 >




Resources CommentaryResources TrainingResources Commentary

Continued on page 20>

Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard has proposed that Australia’s mining sector

could provide specials support to the Philippines.

In her meeting with President Benigno S. Aquino III in Canberra, Prime Min-ister Gillard outlined the importance of the mining sector to Australia’s econom-ic success, its leadership in environmen-tally sustainable and socially responsible mining, and the contribution Australian companies could make in the responsi-ble development of the Philippine min-ing sector, particularly the development of Mindanao.

Both leaders discussed the potential of the mining sector to the Philippines’ development though there were no sig-nificant investment commitments made as the Philippines delegation to Australia made a point of highlighting that new legislation covering the sector has yet to be finalised.

“We haven’t actually quantified yet what kind of investments we expect to get from mining right now. What we told them and what they understand is that we have not put in place the rules (yet),” Philippines Presidential Communica-tions Development and Strategic Plan-ning Secretary Ramon Carandang told a press briefing in Canberra.

Prime Minister Gillard also welcomed President Aquino’s recent announcement that the Philippines will apply to join the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative. They also noted the develop-ment cooperation activities provided by Australia that will support responsible mining in the Philippines.

Both Prime Minister Gillard and Presi-dent Aquino described bilateral, meet-ings in Ausralia in late October as having strengthened the economic relationship and regional partnership between the two nations.

In a joint statement issued after a meet-ing at Parliament House in Canberra, President Aquino and Prime Minister Gillard shared the objective of increas-ing two-way trade and investment flows and agreed on the importance of a stable and predictable regulatory environment.

“The leaders agreed that the economic relationship between Australia and the Philippines holds great promise, build-ing on the strong foundation provided by the agreement establishing the ASE-AN-Australia-New Zealand Free Trade Area,” the joint statement said.

Prime Minister Gillard acknowledged President Aquino’s reform agenda to promote good governance, transpar-ency and accountability in government as they agreed to continue working in regional and multilateral forums to ad-vance regional economic integration and promote trade.

A recent agreement to extend Australian market access for Philippine mangoes was also announced by Prime Minister Gillard which will be welcomed equally by Australian consumers and mango growers in the Philippines.

Prime Minister Gillard and President Aquino also witnessed the signing of a new Air Services Agreement between Australia and the Philippines which will help lay the groundwork for increased trade and people to people links.

Both leaders also welcomed the recent entry into force of the Status of Visiting Forces Agreement between Australia and the Philippines as well as the recent sign-ing of a Memorandum of Understanding on Combating Transnational Crime and Developing Police Cooperation between the Australian Federal Police and the

Aquino receives offer of mining support from Australia

Philippine President Benigno S. Aquino III and Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard share a lighter moment during their meeting in the Australian capital, Canberra.

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Philippine National Police.

“The leaders noted the high level of co-operation between Australia and the Philippines on counter-terrorism,” the joint statement said.

On the issue of the South China Sea, the Australian government shied away from taking a position on competing territo-rial claims but vouched for the Philip-pines’ view to settle the dispute through a rules-based multilateral approach.

“Prime Minister Gillard noted that Aus-tralia did not take a position on com-peting territorial claims, but called on claimant governments to clarify and pur-sue their territorial claims in accordance with international law, including the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea,” the joint statement said.

A number of significant resource developments feature amongst the “significant investments, job opportu-nities for Filipinos” identified by Presi-dent Benigno S. Aquino III during his state visits to New Zealand and Aus-tralia in October.

In New Zealand President Aquino met with the highly regarded GNS Science body, which is tieing up with the Phil-ippines’s Energy Development Corp. to enhance the country’s capability in har-nessing geothermal energy.

The President said he and the members of his delegation also assisted the Philip-pine company Alliance Select in talking to Akaroa Salmon, a New Zealand com-pany. Alliance Select bought 80 percent of Akaroa Salmon.

In Australia the President’s delegation, including Batangas-based Atlantic Gulf & Pacific, held a meeting with interna-

tional engineering and the consortium Japan Gas Corp., Kellogg Brown and Root and JKC to discuss a $200 million natural gas project. Discussions included the potential for Filipinos to undertake critical aspects of their operations.

The contract between AG&P and JKC will create additional 1,500 new jobs at AG&P’s facility in Batangas, according to President Aquino.

Leading Australian banking firm, Mac-quarie Bank discussed its work with the Government Service Insurance System (GSIS) to create the Pinai fund worth $625 million.

According to the President, the fund will be used to bid for infrastructure projects in the Philippines noting that Macquarie has expressied interest in bidding for the NAIA expressway project.

“President Aquino stressed that peace and stability in the region is a concern of all states and that central to this is a rules-based approach in addressing is-sues in accordance with international law. Both leaders recognized the need for governments to exercise restraint and refrain from actions that could fur-ther increase tensions. The two leaders encouraged ASEAN countries and China to conclude a regional Code of Conduct in the South China Sea at an early date,” continued the statement.

In conclusion, both President Aquino and Prime Minister Gillard expressed satisfaction with the two countries’ strong government to government rela-tions underpinned by their close and growing people-to-people ties.

Filipinos are one of the fastest growing

immigrant communities in Australia, with some 225,000 currently living in Australia, making an important contri-bution to the Australian economy and society. In addition, some 6000 Filipino students are currently enrolled across all sectors of the Australian education sys-tem, according to the statement.

The two leaders welcomed their deep-ening and broadening partnership that would further enhance already strong bilateral, regional and multilateral coop-eration on shared strategic interests.

They also welcomed the inaugural bilat-eral Strategic Dialogue held in October 2012 and agreed to consider ways to fur-ther deepen and broaden the political, security, economic, and people-to-peo-ple relationship. ■

The President also highlighted Austral-ian shipbuilder Austal’s plans to expand its operations in Cebu, which will create 1,000 new jobs.

Australian communications specialist Telstra also revealed it is planning to ex-pand its operations in the country. Cur-rently the employer of 10,000 people in the Philippines, the Telstra expansion could result in additional 2,000 to 4,000 new jobs in the country.

The President also said that Australia and the Philippines signed an air servic-es agreement that will help enhance the commercial airline services in the Philip-pines.

He noted that The Philippines and New Zealand likewise sealed several agree-ments that will strengthen their ties par-ticularly in energy and defence coopera-tion. ■

Aquino confident of strong investment return from trip

Continued from page 18>



Resources News

Two projects featuring a strong relation-ship between the Philippine mining in-dustry and local communities have been recognised in a major global photogra-phy competition.

An image of mine worker’s children planting trees at the Tibagan Quarry by

photographer Nikki Sandino Victoriano, has taken out the prize in the “Environ-mental or Sustainability Successes in Mining” section of the prestigious com-petition.

While a “Highly Commended” award was handed down to Photographer Ra-

mon I Castillo, for his image of a teacher and students in a schoolroom provided by Responsible Mining at Padcal.

The well respected Snowden Photo Com-petition has been staged since 2005 and highlights images from around the world “Celebrating” the mining industry.

Each year a panel of judges, lead by world-renowned photographer Richard Woldendorp, select the winning entries from a large and high quality entry pool.

This year four new categories were intro-duced by Snowden, as a way of provid-ing additional options and inspiration in ‘celebrating the mining industry’.

The two Philippine images along with the rest of the pictures chosen in the top 65 are being displayed at a number of ex-hibitions around the world.

Perth, Western Australia-based Snowden, a leading mining consultancy, is celebrat-ing its 25th anniversary this year. ■Nikki Sandino Victoriano’s colourful image of mine worker’s children planting trees at the

Tibagan Quarry.

Ramon I Castillo photograph of a teacher and students in a schoolroom provided by Responsible Mining at Padcal.

MINER’S GOOD WORKS HIGHLIGHTED IN SNOWDEN COMPETITION



Resource Investment

The strength of the Philippine economy has been demonstrated again with the Philippine Stock Ex-change index (PSEi) achieving a new record in capital raising.

Total capital raised from the Philippine stock market set a new record as the total amount reached P174.97 billion for the January to September period, with the to-tal capital raised in 2012 easily surppass-ing the full year 2011 figure of P107.50 billion - which was previously the high-est total amount raised in a single year.

According to the PSEi, the increase was due to initial public offerings of GT Capi-tal Holdings, Inc., East West Banking Corporation, and Calata Corporation, the follow-on offerings of San Miguel Corporation and First Gen Corpora-tion, stock rights offerings of BDO Uni-bank, Inc., Belle Corporation, Alcorn Gold Resources Corporation, and The Philodrill Corporation. Total capital raised also represented a 171 percent improvement over the P64.54 billion raised in the first nine months of 2011.

“The market’s sustained increase has presented attractive valuations for listed firms to raise capital at the Exchange this year,” PSE President and Chief Executive Officer Hans B. Sicat said.

Overall trading activity remained robust during the first nine months in 2012 on account of a third round of quantitative easing in the US coupled with the coun-try’s sound economic environment.

On September 13, the US Federal Reserve announced that it will pur-chase an additional US$40 billion

PSEi Capital-raising reaches new record levels

worth of agency mortgage backed se-curities per month to further stimu-late the world’s largest economy.

The Philippine Stock Exchange index surged by 22.3 percent or 974.14 points year-to-date to end at 5,346.10 as of Sep-tember 28.

On Thursday, October 4, the PSE index staged a new record high at 5,443.74 bringing the year-to-date all-time high instances to a total of 23 times.

Reflecting increased investor confidence, preliminary figures also show that for-eign investors were net buyers during the first nine months in the amount of P95.21 billion which is a six-fold increase from P15.61 billion in the same period last year.

Total value turnover for the nine-month period reached P1.31 trillion, 25.0 per-cent higher than the P1.05 trillion regis-tered in the same period last year. The nine-month value turnover already ap-proximates the full year total value turn-over of P1.42 trillion in 2011.

The combined market capitalization of listed issues in the PSE at the end of the nine-month period rose by 28.5 percent to P10.54 trillion compared with P8.20 trillion in the same period last year. In terms of sectoral indices, the Finan-cials index emerged as the best perform-er, climbing by 41.5 percent during the January to September period. This was closely followed by the Property Index with a 40 percent rise during the nine-month period. The Holding Firms sector meanwhile gained 28.2 percent followed by the Industrial sector which increased by 15.0 percent.

The Services sector rose by 11.4 per-cent while the Mining and Oil in-dex decreased by 15.6 percent.

“The upbeat performance of the stock market is a sign that the Exchange’s ef-forts in further developing the market are paying off,” Mr Sicat said.

To boost liquidity, the PSE extended trading hours until 3:30 PM start-ing in January to align trading hours with that of the PSE’s neighbor-ing bourses in the ASEAN region. In 2012, the Capital Markets Integrity Corporation commenced operations as an independent audit, surveillance and compliance unit.

CMIC utilizes the state-of-the-art Total Market Surveillance system developed by Korea Exchange to enhance its capability in monitoring stock market transactions. The creation of CMIC allowed PSE to fo-cus on business and market development.

In order to align with international best practices in the region, the PSE is pro-posing to consolidate its listing boards which currently comprise the first, sec-ond and small and medium enterprises boards. The move will also provide a clearer classification of listed stocks that will help investors evaluate busi-ness prospects of companies belonging to the abovementioned listing boards.

To promote good corporate governance, the PSE will be conducting the first PSE Bell Awards in December which will recognize listed firms and trading par-




Mineral Resources

Resource Investment

ticipants adhering to high standards of corporate governance in the country.

Record high close

The strength of the Philippine Stock Exchange index was demonstrated fur-ther on October 3 with the PSEi clos-ing at a new record high. Analysts have

suggested the record setting effort re-flected continued upbeat expectations on the economy’s growth for 2012.

The PSEi finished at 5,375.52, up 26.84 points or 0.50 percent, surpass-ing the July 5 record close at 5,369.98. To date, the PSEi has breached new record highs by a total of 22 times.

“The upbeat outlook of the economy, including the Asian Development Bank’s assessment in its recent re-port, affirms confidence in the Phil-ippine market, pushing the main in-dex to yet another unprecedented level,” PSE Chairman Jose T. Pardo said.

>Continued from page 24

International shipbuilder Austal’s Philippines’ yard will build three specialist vessels to sercive offshore

windfarms in the UK.

The 27 metre catamarans will be used by UK-based Turbine Transfers to support wind turbine installation and mainte-nance activities in European waters.

The vessels will be built at Australian-headquartered Austal’s Philippines yard over a period of approximately nine months, commencing in March 2013.

“Austal decided to pursue the growing market for wind farm boats in mid-2010. Having spent the first year working hard to better understand the market’s expec-tations we signed our first contract in July last year,” Austal’s Chief Executive Officer, Andrew Bellamy, said.

"During that initial 12 month market-ing period we did a lot of research and design development and also confirmed that Austal needed to regionalise its man-ufacturing base in order to be successful. The company acquired a shipyard in the Philippines last November for that very reason.

“Now, as our contracts demonstrate, Austal has the vessel designs customers want and the right production cost base to successfully leverage that intellectual property. Our strategy has been so suc-cessful that the Philippines shipyard now employs over 220 staff, continues to grow and is currently fully utilised into the first quarter of next financial year,” he added.

“The capacity and efficiency of our Phil-ippines shipyard means we are still able to meet market demand for vessels deliv-

ered in the first half of 2014. We continue to aggressively pursue further projects for wind farm boats, ferries and other commercial vessels,” Mr Bellamy said.

This is Austal’s third new project for Tur-bine Transfers in a little over 15 months. Three 21 metre catamarans were ordered in July 2011 and delivered to Europe ear-lier this year. Construction of a 27 metre TRI SWATH ordered in January 2012 is nearing completion at the Philippines shipyard.

The $7 million acquisition of the former FBMA Marine shipyard enables Austal to establish shipbuilding operations at the West Cebu Industrial Park at Balam-ban, in the province of Cebu. Austal will invest a further $5 million to enhance the shipyard’s existing facilities.

Austal plans to commence vessel con-struction in the first quarter of 2012, dependant on orders, and expects to em-ploy about 30 workers during the start-up phase. Future workforce growth is ex-pected in line with market demand, and the site allows for efficient expansion of the facility when future operational and market conditions require.

Austal Chief Executive Officer Andrew Bellamy said the acquisition of the for-mer FBMA shipyard is an important

Austal’s Philippine Investment Starting To Pay Dividends

The specialist vessels will be built at Austal’s Philippines yard. Continued on page 28>



Oil & Gas Resources

milestone in Austal’s corporate strategy to meet the requirements of key com-mercial vessel markets by further region-alising its shipbuilding operations.

“Our strategic review earlier this year found that there is strong demand in specific segments of the international commercial vessel market, such as fast crew transfer boats, work boats and 30 metre to 50 metre ferries,” he said.

“With our Australian and United States

manufacturing operations increasingly defence focussed, we identified the need to regionalise our manufacturing base in order to be successful in those commer-cial vessel markets.”

Austal will primarily construct small and medium sized aluminium passenger ferries, work boats and transfer vessels such as Austal’s Wind Express series of wind farm support vessels at the Philip-pines shipyard. The shipyard is purpose-designed and built for building alumini-um vessels of that size and type and will also have the skilled workforce and facil-

ities to be able to undertake service and maintenance work. Austal is retaining its large commercial vessel manufacturing capability in Australia.

The Philippines shipyard has a history of aluminium vessel fabrication, and has previously delivered medium and high speed ferries, patrol boats and special-ist work boats to operators based in Eu-rope, Mexico, Australia and Asia.

Austal’s significant intellectual property in the design and construction of com-mercial vessels will be utilised at its Philippines operations, which will help ensure that Austal’s quality and perfor-mance standards are maintained.

“Our planned infrastructure enhance-ments combined with the existing pool of skilled local tradespeople and ancil-lary industries will support the same safe, efficient, high quality production we achieve in our other shipyards,” said Mr Bellamy.

“Austal now has an order book of ap-proximately $1.8 billion, nearly all of it related to defence work and over 80 per cent attributable to our US operations. The new shipyard in the Philippines pro-vides the right foundation to grow that order book further through increased commercial vessel sales,” he said.

The acquisition of the Asian shipyard will have no adverse effects on Austal’s Australian and US operations, with both manufacturing facilities currently under contract for several significant multi-ves-sel, multi-year defence programs.


Artist’s impression of the new vessels to be built in the Philippines.

Continued on page 30



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Resource Investment

The World Bank Group in planning to hold nationwide consultations for its new Country Partnership

Strategy (CPS) that will set the direction for the Bank’s engagement in the Philippines for a 3-year period from July 2013 to June 2016.

The series of consultation meetings with the government, the private sector and civil society will take place in Makati City, Naga, Davao and Iloilo from Octo-ber 23 to November 8, 2012. According to the Word Bank, this is the first time that various stakeholder groups will be coming together in broader nationwide consultations to discuss the new CPS.

Prepared every three years, the strategy outlines the priorities of the World Bank Group’s support for a country, consist-ent with its own development plan, while incorporating the feedback and views of various stakeholders including govern-ment partners, civil society and the busi-ness sector.

In the Philippines, the Bank’s country strategy is aligned with the government’s Philippine Development Plan (PDP). The next country strategy will be pre-

The current country strategy (July 2009-June 2013) focuses on improving govern-ance and achieving growth that works for the poor, in line with the Govern-ment’s development objectives.

The strategy supports efforts to achieve macroeconomic stability, an improved investment climate, better public service delivery for the poor and reduced vulnerabilities to in-come shocks and natural disasters.

The CPS is also an opportunity for even deeper collaboration between the Bank and the International Fi-nance Corporation (IFC), the private sector financing arm of the World Bank Group, which have worked to-gether in the areas of infrastructure, agribusiness and the financial sector.

IFC Resident Representative Jesse Ang expressed optimism that the IFC, to-gether with the World Bank can con-tinue to provide support in these sec-tors, as well as forge new paths that will secure much-needed financing for the private sector, while reducing their risks due to an uncertain global environment.

sented to the World Bank Group Execu-tive Board in July of next year.

World Bank Country Director, Motoo Konishi, expressed optimism that the new round of consultations across the country will yield a diverse range of perspectives and recommendations that will inform the next country strategy.

“We look forward to hearing from gov-ernment officials, leaders of civil so-ciety and the business sector, as well as representatives from the academe, trade unions and other groups, whose views on the current development chal-lenges facing the country are important in preparing the new Country Part-nership Strategy,” Mr Konishi said.

He stressed the importance of consulting with as many stakeholders as possible, given the changing development land-scape, as well as challenges in the global economic environment.

“While the Philippines has weathered the lingering global financial and economic crisis with its strong economic funda-mentals, much needs to be done to sup-port the kind of growth that generates jobs, reduces poverty, and improves the lives of the Filipino people,’’ he added.

Managing Director of Turbine Transfers, Captain Mark Meade, said his company was using Austal technology to support the next phase of wind farm development which would see a much larger number of turbines installed farther offshore and in other areas with rougher sea conditions.

Rugged and versatile, the new Wind Express 27 catamarans will be able to transport 12 personnel and 10 tonnes of equipment/stores to and from turbines. This includes containerised items on forward and/or aft decks.

Powered by four Caterpillar C18 diesels and propelled and steered by Rolls Royce Kamewa waterjets, they will be able to operate at in excess of 27 knots. An Austal integrated monitoring, alarm and control system with touch screen interface will be configured such that all vessels functions are available from a central location on the bridge. The catamarans are being designed and built to Det Norske Veritas +1A1 HSLC Windfarm Service 1 R1 classification and United Kingdom MGN 280 Area Category 1 require-ments. ■


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Resources Training

indication of the healthy industry, then the industry seems to be in the pink of health.

But along with these promising devel-opments is a growing awareness of risk management – due to the challenging nature of the mining, petroleum, and energy sectors. According to the Interna-tional Labour Organization (ILO), an es-timated 2.2 million work-related deaths happen each year.

That’s why from a business perspective, the axioms “prevention is better than cure” and “health is wealth” have evolved from mere clichés to sound business wis-dom —especially with the benefits and opportunities that compliance and risk mitigation generate : less hazards and ac-cidents; reduced costs and absenteeism;

better productivity and reputation.

Emerging Occupational Safety Stand-ards

No wonder progressive countries were quick to recognize the importance of a safer workplace and a healthier work-force. The United States, for instance, has created several federal agencies to set and implement standards for safe and healthy working conditions—the Oc-cupational Safety and Health Adminis-tration (OSHA) provides training, educa-tion, and assistance to working men and women; and the Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) enforces safety and health measures in all US mining and mineral processing operations. In the local landscape, the establishment of the Occupational Safety and Health Center (OSHC) in 1987 echoed the gov-ernment’s efforts to uphold a safer and healthier working environment.

OSHC Executive Director Ma. Teresita Cucueco, MD reports, “Occupational safety training in the Philippines is growing, evolving. . . . responding to the need.” “We were host to the 13th Coor-dinating Board Meeting of the ASEAN Occupational Safety and Health Net-work (ASEAN OSHNET) in April this year, and will serve as Secretariat of the organization through 2014,” she adds.

By virtue of Administrative Order #53 series of 2010 issued by the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE), a collaborative network for “the advance-ment and promotion of occupational safety, and health and environment con-cerns throughout the Philippines” was created. OSHNET is composed of occu-pational safety and health practitioners –from both the private and government sectors, as well as representatives from related professional groups, industry as-

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Dubbed as “the economy to watch,” the Philippines received positive forecasts in 2012. With the right initiatives and business opportunities, the country may even be the “next investment hub” in the Southeast Asian region.

Our economic potential in the min-ing sector alone—ranking third in gold, fourth in copper, and fifth in nickel re-serves in the world—has translated into a significant GDP growth contribution and employment generation for many in the countryside.

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Through this network, compliance stand-ards are being set and implemented. The Basic Occupational Safety and Health (BOSH) training is one such emerging standard – providing 40-hour non-con-struction as well as construction safety training.

However, OSHC recognizes that a stag-gering “90% of the Philippine workforce does not enjoy such favorable working conditions.” While rising training ac-tivities validate the desire to improve the current situation, the demand for oc-cupational health and safety (OHS) ser-vices overshadows the limited number of trainers available.

Online training mitigates this obstacle to safety education. “This year, we just launched the Online Basic Occupational Safety and Health (BOSH) training. . . . designed for those who may not be able to attend face-to-face sessions,” Dr. Cu-cueco explains. “This lets students take the course on their own time, at their own pace.”

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As a result of its robust and reliable tech-nology platform, expertly developed courses, solicitous customer support, and excellent relations with regulatory bodies – it has been consulted by several state agencies with regard to the imple-mentation of online training for accredi-tation purposes. 360training.com has been instrumental to thousands of com-panies saving millions of dollars in train-ing costs and has been key to equipping hundreds of thousands of professionals with the knowledge and skills required to stay on the top of their game.

Today, 360training.com is in Asian wa-ters – establishing a foothold in one of the centers of learning and education in the region: Manila. Sharmeen Niaz, 360training.com’s Director of Opera-tions and International Business Devel-opment leads the charge. The company has set up office at Net Square building, at The Fort’s (Bonifacio Global City) E-Square IT Park, where other global tech-nology companies have also established their offshore units.

With the so-called dawning of the “Asian Century,” the company is once again first to tap into eLearning as a powerful tool to leverage the potentials of the re-gion. “Our vision is to be a part of every



Resources Training



Sandvik Mining’s line-up of specialised underground mining equipment covers the full range of activities, from development works, to drilling, loading and hauling, to processing, handling and long-distance conveying. Our focus is on applications, delivering our customers the safest, most effective and lowest cost per tonne solutions in both coal and hard rock applications.

And our efforts and enthusiasm don’t stop with the sale. We value long-term relationships, understanding that our success depends on the continued trust of our customers in our advice, support and service.

With Sandvik, you can be sure

Deep underground, we’ve got you covered

sandvik tamrock (PhiliPPines) inc.,

1004 one Global Place buildinG, 5th ave, cor.25th st.,

bonifacio Global city, taGuiG city 1634 PhiliPPines

t: +632 4785265 f: +632 4785267

www.mining.sandvik.com

learner’s experience worldwide. And that’s why we’re here in the Philippines today,” says Ms. Niaz. “In these few months since we have begun offering our eLearning content and solutions to the local market, we were already able to win the trust of several clients who have experienced our topnotch content firsthand. . . . and this month alone, we have gotten several invitations to present from companies belonging to different sectors. We have been providing eLearning to a leading coal power generating plant in Mindanao for two years now. And more recently, we got an order from one of the oldest power generation companies in the same region,” she adds.

360training Philippines is now the regional headquarters for 360training.com-US, with an employee base of over 100 profession-als equipped with tools and technologies to meet the eLearning needs of the region and of the Philippines in particular. Aside from technical training in the different industries, there is a lot of interest among local companies in softskills (business skills) training. From Management Leadership training to Effective communication we offer top notch content that is recognized inter-nationally.

In the case of the petroleum and power, and mining sectors, effective safety training – or the lack thereof – can have serious repercussions – these having the highest severity rates in terms of work-related injuries. 360training.com is looking forward to establishing strategic partnerships with the local occupational safety community to build a safer workplace for every Filipino. ■


What was your family background?

“My Dad was a primary school principal, so we moved home a lot. He was literally very ‘“old school’ and only saw the need to educate our brother, so we four girls left school at 15. A girl’s place was behind a typewriter he used to tell us.

Did you plan your career from the start?

Ha ha! Does anyone at 15 plan their ca-reer? I lived in a mining town, Mount Isa, so I went ina technical direction just

because that was what my friends were doing. My first job was as a Tracer in a mining company, drawing bore hole logs on canvas and writing 1.5mm high let-ters. My young eyes suffered!

Later I worked for an architecton the Gold Coast and studied for a Diploma in Civil Engineering at the University of Southern Queensland.

I was the only girl in the class and had to work extra hard to make up for my lack of previous study in maths and physics but managed to overcome that handicap and gained a High Distinction.

I then started up a soil testing labora-tory, building up to employ 6 staff and achieving NATA registration. We did well in the boom years and then some-thing happened…

An engineer questioned my report - in-correctly – but questioned my credentials as I “was not an engineer”. This spurred me on to a new direction. I decided to delegate the running of the soil testing lab and study for a Civil Engineering

degree at the University of Southern Queensland.

Where did your role as a mother fit in with all this?

Rather naively, I thought that being a mother was simply a process of not hav-ing to work and having plenty of free time to study or whatever.

Consequently we started a family when I went back to university to study Civil Engineering. Wrong! Being a mother is no picnic!

I had my work cut out and had to strug-gle hard to get my degree and raise two babies. Second one was a mistake so I ended up with 2 babies 17 months apart. But we made it. I’m proud of them – my daughter is embarking on her career and my son is at university.

A key part of all this is having a husband of 25 years who is not only supportive but has followed me around Australia and now around the world.

Anne Can....Engineer, Manager, Mother, Farmer’s Wife and Mountain Biker – a spotlight on GHD Philippines Country Manager Anne Lavers

A strong family life is important for Anne. Continued on page 40>

Resources Spotlight



And what of the GHD years?

With my engineering degree , I decided to sell the lab due to conflict of interest issues and joined GHD and worked as a structural engineer in Cairns, followed by Office Manager stints in Wellington and Townsville before joining Fraser Watt’s Manila team as a Technical Direc-

Anne Lavers at a glance:From Atherton Tablelands, North Queensland

One of 4 girls in family of 5

Left school at 15

Mother of 2

Married 25 years

Lived In Australia, New Zealand and Philippines (Philippines since 2010)

Manages 240 staff in GHD’s Manila Operating Centre

Mountain Biker

Has a farm in North Queensland

tor. My role here was largely one of men-toring and tutoring. I learned a lot about the Filipino psyche, and was forced to soften my blunt Aussie ways!

You replaced Fraser Watt, apart from not looking like a Bond villain, how does your approach differ?

Ha ha! Fraser is a tough act to follow. He may look menacing, but he’s charismatic,

generous, warm-hearted and very honest and passionate. I have to work within my own leadership style – M? Money-penny? Who knows? But I’ll work hard and I love working with Filipinos and am responsible for over 200 of them. 50% are female so I hope I can be a role model for them in some ways.

We haven’t talked about “Girl Power” – the obvious fact that you’re female in a largely male industry. How has your gender affected your career?

As you’ve learned I’m a fairly conven-tional married mother, and don’t really get involved in political feminism. I like to let my achievements do the talking.

In my career I’ve had two notable inci-dents where I was criticised and chal-lenged because of my gender. On both occasions I stood my ground. Over here I see that Filipinas have extra depth as they broadly take more responsibility than the boys.

How do you break out of work mode and enjoy yourself?

My husband and I love mountain biking, and cycle with a group organised by the Sabak bike shop in Pasong Tamo. Back home, and I guess in retirement, we’ll en-joy growing avocadoes and mangoes on the farm we own on the Atherton Table-lands, near Cairns.

So what of the future?

Well I will be here for some time to come – it’s a job half done and I would like to see GHD expand in size and geographi-cal scope – possibly opening offices in secondary cities. I also want to continue and expand our environmental and hu-manitarian work and support the Philip-pines at a community level.

We’ll retire to the farm but I imagine that we’ll be back here often! ■

Anne Lavers is a keen Mountain biker in her spare time.

Resources Spotlight




pany -Exploration Corporation.

The landmark project is considered to be among the most significant in the Philippines. Approximately 40 percent of the power for the main island of Lu-zon is generated by power plants using Malampaya gas. This new contract fol-lows Fluor’s successful completion of the front-end engineering and design (FEED) contract for Phase 3. Fluor booked the undisclosed contract value in the third quarter.

“This new EPC contract for the Malam-

paya Deep Water Gas-to-Power Project solidifies our strength in the growing global offshore gas market,” said Peter Oosterveer, Fluor’s president for Energy & Chemicals.

“Fluor’s long-term presence in the Phil-ippines is a testament to the outstanding work by our professionals, now 2,220 strong, in our Manila and Cebu offices, who are providing full-service project execution.”

Fluor awarded major Malampaya contract

US engineering and construction giant Fluor Corporation’s Fluor Offshore Solutions division

has been awarded an engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) support contract for Phase 3 of the Malampaya Deep Water Gas-to-Power Project.

The project is being undertaken on be-half of the Philippine Government by the Service Contract 38 consortium com-posed of Shell Philippines Exploration B.V. (Operator), Chevron Malampaya LLC and Philippine National Oil Com-

Weatherford, a global drilling and down-hole specialist, has achieved a growing demand for its services in the Philip-pines.

Earlier this year Weatherford was award-ed a contract for exploration well testing package and completions equipment in North Luzon, Philipines.

The contract was for the provision Equipment and Personnel to execute a two Zone Testing Operation with Design specific to Gas Production. The project was completed successfully and further testing plans are in progress.

The company had previously been con-tracted for an Extended Well Test (EWT) offshore, Palawan Philippines. The con-tract was for the provision of engineer-ing, design, procurement/modified or new build equipment, installation & commissioning of the 20,000 bbl/d plant with water treatment facilities able to process associated water cut of up to 75%. The project was completed within the planned 5 months allocated from contract award.

The scope of the project included - First stage separation & second stage degas-sing, electrostatic coalescer, crude oil export trim cooler & metering package. Produced gas was flared.

Produced Water Treatment includes - De-oiling hydrocyclones, Weatherford designed hybrid gas flotation vessel and a filtration package. Treated water was dumped overboard at 15 ppm and crude oil is transferred to an FSO.

Geothermal work

In April 2012, leading international drill-ing and downhole specialist Weather-ford was awarded a contract by Chevron Philippines Holdings Inc. to run a 13-3/8 Mechanical SAQC Whipstock for its pro-ject in Mak-Ban Geothermal Production Field.

The workover objective was to effective-ly abandon the enlarged hole section and efficiently sidetrack the well. The whip-stock was successfully deployed in a sin-gle trip with a setting depth of 2,355 ft on the high side, exiting into a volcanic formation.

Weatherford Asia Pacific, Pte Ltd’s Phil-ippine Branch specialises in solving common to geothermal well problems - collapsed casing, restricted well opening due to scale deposits, junk in hole, fish in hole and casing exits.

Weatherford Whipstocks have been uti-lized in various sizes and types for geo-thermal wells in the Philippines. The purpose is to open a new window in the casing and provide new hole that diverts to another geothermal reservoir. Various types of Whipstock are available depend-ing on hole conditions and customer re-quirements.

The majority of the single trip system whipstocks are mechanically activated anchors for hot geothermal well applica-tion. Its whipstock is capable of conver-sion from hydraulic system to mechani-cally set in the field to adapt with changes due to hole conditions and operations.

To date, Weatherford Philippines has achieved 100 percent success rate on whipstock deployments, including the recent workover in Mak-Ban. ■

Weatherford Tasting Growing Philippine Interest




Vancouver-headquartered Cadan Resources Corporation has announced that its Philippines

affiliate, Tribal Mining Corporation (TMC), has received the Mines and Geosciences Bureau (MGB) Declaration of Mining Project Feasibility (DMPF), enabling the Company to commence mining production at the T’Boli gold-silver mine within the Mineral Processing and Sharing Agreement (MPSA) No. 090-97-XI.

Fluor Offshore Solutions is providing detailed engineering, procurement and selected construction support services as well as supporting the Shell team in managing the local fabricator.

Malampaya Phase 3 involves the design, fabrication and installation of a new depletion compression platform that is linked by a bridge to the existing shallow water platform. Fluor is responsible for the engineering and procurement for the new depletion compression platform as well as modifications required on the shallow water platform. Additional Fluor responsibilities include freight forwarding, material management for onshore fabrication and offshore installation, and preparation of work scopes for transportation and installation. The project is being performed locally from Fluor’s burgeoning full-service execution centers in Manila and Cebu as well as a local fabrication yard in the Philippines. The project is under way and is expected to be complete in 2015.

Fluor previously provided ongoing engineering services for the existing shallow water platform from 2000 to 2006 and more recently conducted a hazard and operability analysis for the Malampaya project. ■


Tribal elders, TMC Directors and CADAN President/CEO Robert Butchart united paying tribute to the office of the MGB Director in Manila.

Cadan reported that the T’Boli Project is now fully equipped, including a trained local workforce, a fully constructed and commissioned Carbon-In-Leach (CIL) gold-silver processing plant, gravity con-centrator, electro-winning circuit, tail-ings storage facility and powerhouse.

T’Boli hosts a reported inferred mineral resource of 2.4Mt at 5.5 g/t Au and 21.0 g/t Ag, equivalent to 420,000 oz of gold and 1.6 million oz of silver.

Cadan said that in connection with the is-suance of the DMPF, the MGB reviewed and verified information on the property regarding available resources, in addi-tion to considering the environmental, social and economic requirements of the Philippines.

“This is a tremendous success for Cadan shareholders as the Company transitions to become a gold producer and we are ready to commence operations immedi-ately, the people are ready, the mill plant is ready and the underground develop-ment is ready for stoping,” Cadan’s Pres-ident and CEO, Robert Butchart, said.

Milestone

“This is also an exciting milestone for the Government, as it is the first DMPF to be granted in South Cotabato, Mindanao and the first to be granted in the Philip-pines since the recent Executive Order No. 79 by the President Aquino Admin-istration.

“Cadan’s new management team has made these achievements possible since they took control in April, 2011.

“With the dynamic combination of local knowledge and technical expertise, we are confident that the Company and the community will prosper by responsible and productive mining.” ■

Cadan Celebrates T’Boli Gold Start-up



Mineral Resources

Copper Development Corporation (CDC) has reported it may not to proceed any further with its Basay tenement on Negros Island after receiving disappointing exploration results.

Isle of Man-headquartered Copper Development Corporation recently completed an internal interim report on the drill-ing results and geology at the Basay licence.

The report has provided a non-AIM compliant estimate of resource and grade which the CDC Board has concluded are insuf-ficient to support a mining operation. The report also recommended additional drilling to determine the extent of the deposits with several target areas identified.

However, the Company said it has now elected to cease further exploration on the property for the time being in light of the cost of such drilling and the ongoing discussions with the Government over the Privatization Management Office’s claim to the property.

The Company said it has continued its vigorous defense of its rights to the property based on the legal opinions of two leading Philippine law firms, while the Privatization Management Office has maintained what the Company and its legal counsel believe to be a legally unsubstantiated claim to the property.

Whilst an application for renewal of the Basay exploration permit has been made, there is a possibility that the permit, which expires on 1 December 2012, may not be renewed. ■

Copper Development Considers Basay Project FutureT

Brunel loc FP

Geothermal energy risk managementBy Fernando Penarroyo

Renewable Resources


November 2011 - January 2012www.philippine-resources.com

Philippine Resources 31 46 Philippine Resources


Focus on ... SEAPEXgovernment and private sector. In other awards for 2011, safest mine awards went to TVI Resource D e v e l o p m e n t s for surface op-eration, Repub-lic Cement Bu-lacan for cement plant opera-tion, Apo Land and Quarry for quarry opera-tion, FCF Miner-als for explora-tion (category A), MRL Gold Surigao-Agusan for exploration (category B), Repub-lic Cement Norzagaray for mineral processing (cement category), TVI Resource Development for mineral processing (concentrator category), Apex Mining for mineral processing (extraction category) and Philippine

Mining Service for mineral process-ing (crushing plant category). Carmen Copper was cited for safest combined operation, Northern Cement for most improved safety per-formance and TVI Resource Develop-ment for safest mining operation. Awardees for the best mining for-

est program are Philex Mining’s Padcal opera-tions in the me-tallic category, Holcim La Union plant in the non-metallic catego-ry, MRL Gold’s Surigao-Agusan projects in the exploration cat-egory, with spe-cial awards for Apex Mining and Rio Tuba Nickel Mining for best nursery and best reha-

bilitation strategy respectively. PMSEA’s Pasasalamat Award was conferred upon former Mines and Geosciences Bureau director and De-partment of Environment and Natural Resources undersecretary Jerry Do-lino for his contributions to uplifting the Philippine mining industry. ■

Brunel Ovs FP

Mineral Resources

TVI Resource Development, represented by its president Eugene Mateo (second from right) and chief operating officer John Ridsdel (far right), won the award for the safest mining operation as well as safest mine awards for surface operation and mineral processing (concentrator categories). They received the awards from PMSEA president Louie Sarmiento (far left) and Mines and Geosciences Bureau director Leo Jasareno (second from left), with awards committee member Lita Lee (center) of Rapid City Realty and Development Corporation.

February - April 2012www.philippine-resources.com

Philippine Resources 25

Brunel Ovs FP

Renewable Resources

■

< Continued from page 32

Fernando “Ronnie” Penarroyo is the managing partner at Puno and Penarroyo Law Offices (www.punopenalaw.com). He specializes in energy and resources law, project finance and business development.





David Brown Gear Industries has announced the opening of a Gear Service Center Facility in

Subic Bay plus extended three (3) year warranty on new gears, gear boxes and gearbox refurbishment.

Recognizing the needs of the local min-ing industry for high quality gear and gearbox supply and refurbishment ser-vices, David Brown Gears has recently established a Gear Service Facility within Subic Bay to provide rapid response and ready access to high quality gear servic-es.

The service centre is operated under the hands-on supervision and management of specialist David Brown gear service engineers out of Australia, Singapore and the UK, complemented by skilled DBGI trained local engineers. The com-pany works in close coordination with client’s engineering & technical staff, working as a team.

David Brown Industries Opens Subic Bay Service Centre

Due to the high quality of goods and services provided by David Brown Gear, they also now offer a three year war-ranty on new gears and gear boxes, as well as on gearbox refurbishment. This provides customers the assurance they need that they can rely on the goods and services for their mission critical compo-nents.

David Brown Gear is the largest and old-est specialist gear manufacturer in the world, and are global leaders in the field of gear and gearbox design, gear and gearbox manufacture, gear supply to OEM and aftermarket industrial custom-ers, major gear repair/rebuild/refurbish-ment and gear and gearbox repair servic-es (all brands of gears and gearboxes).

With the company philosophy that there is no room for compromise on perfor-mance or reliability in a world reliant on mined commodities, and gear system failure is not an option, David Brown

globally provide tailored gear products and systems, strategic maintenance and gear management systems and engineered solutions across the whole mining pro-cess, including exploration, extraction, processing, and transportation.

For high quality gear and gearbox design and new product supply, gear audit and inspection/reporting programs, repair, mainte-nance and overhaul, the world’s leading Mining Com-panies and OEM suppliers traditionally turn to David Brown.

Philippine Mining Industry clients can take advantage of over 150 years of global ex-perience in the design, manu-facture and servicing/repair

of mill drive systems, girth gears, agita-tor/thickener drives, conveyor drives, stacker reclaimer, shovel and dragline components and drives, crusher and grizzly gear drives etc.

In the Philippines, David Brown Gear Industries service the requirements of all major and emerging mining companies, and provide the full range of new prod-ucts, and maintenance services required to keep critical units in optimal opera-tional condition.

This includes comprehensive gear and gearbox condition audit/inspections, with detailed reporting and recommen-dations for future required maintenance services. This information is essential for management to be able maintain critical units in optimal operational condition so that targeted production levels can be re-liably maintained. It also allows for cost efficient budget planning and manage-ment, as well as procurement planning and scheduling of maintenance, repairs, refurbishment and replacement pro-grams for critical gearboxes.

DBGI undertake gear and gearbox re-pair work as appropriate, either in situ at the minesite, or at the David Brown Gear Service Centre in Subic Bay.

David Brown Gear Industries have been active in the very precise and specialized field of gear engineering in the Philip-pines for over 30 years, primarily in the Mining, Power, Cement, Sugar, General Industrial, Construction and associated industries. The company have special-ist engineers in the Philippines at most times to manage their major projects here in conjunction with David Brown trained Philippine gear service engi-neers, and are experienced and well qualified to provide world best practice solutions, and complete projects to the full satisfaction of Philippine Mining In-dustry clients. ■David Brown Gear is the largest and oldest specialist

gear manufacturer in the world.

MIneral Resources



With significant activities being put in place to ensure a meaningful 59th An-nual National Mine Safety and Envi-ronment Conference (ANMSEC) on November 13-16, 2012 in Baguio City, the Philippine Mine Safety and Environ-ment Association (PMSEA) has moved to reaffirm its commitment to responsible mining.

“The conduct of the 2012 ANMSEC is a very timely event as the Philippine min-erals industry is presently confronted with various challenges,” PMSEA Presi-dent Louie Sarmiento pointed out.

According to Sarmiento, the week-long conference will give PMSEA the oppor-tunity to present the efforts of its mem-ber-companies in providing genuine pro-gress for all Filipinos, especially the poor and underprivileged.

“As the best practices of its members in the fields of occupational safety and health, sound environmental manage-ment and social responsibility will be duly recognized, PMSEA firms up its commitment to responsible mining and sustainable development,” Sarmiento said.

PMSEA To Reaffirm Commitment To Responsible Mining At Annual Conference

At the same time, Sarmiento added that through its Pusong Minero initiative, PMSEA remains at the forefront in ad-dressing the crises the sector faces.

Sarmiento said that in line with this year’s ANMSEC theme, Responsible Mining: Our Advocacy…Our Commit-ment…, the first day (November 13) will begin with a tree planting activity at 9:00am in Barangay Twin Peaks, Tuba, Benguet.

This environmental undertaking dubbed as a “Commitment To A Greener Earth”, is an initiative of PMSEA member-com-pany Monark Equipment to mark their 25th anniversary. The aim is to plant 25,000 Kalinga Orange trees within the 25 months since January of 2012.

At 2:00pm of the same day, PMSEA’s showcase of endemic plants and trees inside the summer capital’s Botanical Garden will be inaugurated. This is a project under a memorandum of agree-ment signed in 2010 with the city govern-ment of Baguio where PMSEA adopted a 1000-square meter area to develop and nurture for five years.

“This is our way of ‘giving back’ the fruits of Mother Nature who has been provid-ing us with bountiful blessings,” Sarm-iento explained.

The inaugural rites will be immediately followed by a press conference at the same venue before the welcome cocktails at the Ballroom of the Baguio Country Club at 6:00pm.

Early morning on the second day (No-vember 14), at 6:00am, the golf, bowl-ing and lawn tennis tournaments will formally and simultaneously kick off at the Baguio Country Club, Baguio Center Mall and Baguio Tennis Club respective-ly where winners will be awarded dur-ing the Mining Night at 6:30pm in Camp John Hay’s Ampitheater.

On the third day (November 15), 8:30am, a two-day Mining Exhibit will be opened at the Garden Wing of CAP-John Hay Trade and Cultural Center. A day long Minerals Industry Symposium by the Philippine Society of Mining Engineers (PSEM) will run from 9:00am to 5:00pm, at the A and B Halls of the same center.

The last day (November 16) of the 59th ANMSEC will be highlighted with a Min-erals Industry Parade at 6:30am starting from SM Baguio before the much antici-pated Mine Safety Field Demonstration and Field Competition at Melvin Jones where victors will be honored at exhibit area, 3:00pm.

The conference will be culminate at 6:30pm with a Testimonial Dinner and Annual Awards Night at the same venue where the symposium was held.

This annual tradition of the Philippine minerals industry dates back to 1938. On November 17 1967, by virtue of Presiden-tial Proclamation No. 115-A, the month of November was declared as Mine Safe-ty and Accident Prevention Month. ■

IT has come to our attention that a former self employed sales rep of this publication is considering working on a new start up magazine and has been contacting a number of our valued clients.

While we always welcome the possible start-up of a new business in the Phil-ippines, we just want to clarify any misconceptions caused by the creation of a magazine with a very similar title to this publication.

We want to advise that this former self employed sales rep has no ties with the publication you are reading.

We at Philippine Resources thank you for your ongoing support. ■

A CLARIFICATION FOR OURVALUED CLIENTS

Mineral Resources



Understanding Carbonates- The Complexities of Rock TypingCarbonate reservoir evaluation has been a high priority for researchers and oil and gas producers for decades, but the challenges presented by these highly heterogeneous rocks seem to be never-ending. From initial exploration through mature stages of production, geoscien-tists, petrophysicists and engineers work together to extract as much information as possible from subsurface data to pro-duce maximum reserves (Figure 1).

Carbonate reservoirs present a picture of extremes. Reservoirs can be colossal, though their pores can be microscopic. Matrix permeability can be immeasur-ably low, while fluids flow like rivers

through fractures. Evaluation techniques that succeed in sandstones sometimes fail in carbonates.

These variations complicate both reser-voir evaluation and hydrocarbon recov-ery. However, researchers are working to overcome these problems because of the economic significance of oil produc-tion from carbonate reservoirs, espe-cially giant and supergiant fields in the Middle East.

The potential rewards are great: about 60% of the world’s oil reserves lie in car-bonate reservoirs, with huge potential for additional gas reserves. The results

of borehole-scale evaluations play sig-nificant roles in larger scale field devel-opment, simulation and management efforts.

Carbonate sedimentary rocks differ from siliciclastic sedimentary rocks in several ways. Siliciclastic rocks form as sedi-ments are transported, deposited and lithified, or compacted and cemented into solid rock. Most carbonate rocks de-velop from biogenic sediments formed by biological activity, which includes reef building and accumulation of the re-mains of organisms on the seafloor.

Other types form as water evaporates from shallow onshore basins or as pre-cipitates from seawater. The carbonates that form most of the reservoirs in the Philippines (Williams 1997) are mostly:

1) Pinnacle reefs developed on Nido carbonate platforms (e.g. Nido, Matin-loc, Cadlao);

2) A seaward horst block reef fairway with large pinnacle reefs (Malampaya-Camago trend).

Figure 1: Complex workflows are needed to fully understand fractured carbonate res-ervoirs. Abbreviations: ELAN = ELemen-tal Analysis; CMR = Combinable Magnetic Resonance; FMI = Formation MicroImager; ECS = elemental Capture Spectroscopy; PLT = Production Logging Tool; TCP = Tran-simission Control Protocol; WL = Wireline; MDT = Modular Formation Dynamics Test-er; DST = Drill Stem Testing; XRD = X-ray Defraction; Super K’s = High Permeable Steaks.

Figure 2. A) Locality map of reprocessed Multiclient 2D Seismic from East Palawan and Sulu Sea PECR4 Blocks B) Cross-Sec-tion Orientated WSW to ENE illustrating the subsurface carbonate build-ups and other petroleum traps observed in the offshore Philippines (courtesy of Dept of Energy, Western Geco and Multiclient Ge-ophysical Pte, Ltd).

Figure 3. Remote sensing images of A) Ai-tutaki and B) Maupiti Atolls, South Pacific and C, D) interpreted geomorphic belts. Although sizes of the atolls differ, both have similar zontations. Parts A &B are copyright DigitalGlobe.Com (Rankey et al, 2011).

Mineral Resources



Newly reprocessed Multiclient 2D seismic data over the 4th Philippine Energy Contracting Round (PECR4 Area10, 11, 13 and 14) indicate carbonate build-ups and associated synrift clastic reservoirs in East Palawan and the Sulu Sea (Figure 2).

These trapping configurations form potential targets for fu-ture reservoirs and preliminary investigations show that the key elements of prospective plays are present in these blocks. Amplitude and AVO (Amplitude Variation with Offset) anom-alies observed on the seismic data are thought to be related to Hydrocarbon presence.

One modern day example of pinnacle reefs are the Aitutaki and Maupiti Atolls, Cook Islands, South Pacific (Figure 3). These reefs exhibit large lateral and vertical variations in ree-fal habitats, from reef escarpments, carbonate shoals with coral mounds, and quiescent lagoons to talus beaches. All of these unique environments are juxtaposed and stack vertical-ly or successively during burial to create a complex textural play.

The fragments that make up most carbonate rocks typically have undergone much less transport than most siliciclastic sediments.

Figure 4. Carbonate classification scheme. Carbonate rocks are differentiated by depositional texture, grain types, rock fabric or other factors. The Dunham classification, published in 1962, is widely used to categorize carbonate rocks according to the amount of grains and mud. The classification by Embry and Klovan follows the Dunham scheme, but adds categories of rocks formed by or-ganisms that grew together, such as colonies of oysters. Describing pore types further refines rock description: Lucia’s classification is widely accepted (from Oilfield Review Winter 2000/2001).]

Security & Crisis Management Invessgasons Business Intelligence



flow units. Once deposited, sediments undergo diagenesis, the postdeposition-al chemical and physical changes that transform the sediment into solid rock. Carbonate diagenesis can significantly modify pore space and permeability. Carbonate rocks are highly susceptible to dissolution; grains can be dissolved to form new pore space, and dissolution along fractures and bedding planes can produce large vugs and caves. Clastic diagenesis normally does not involve a change in mineralogy.

Carbonate diagenesis, however, com-monly involves replacing the original calcite and aragonite with the mineral dolomite, a process called dolomitiza-tion, which can improve the hydrocar-bon-producing characteristics.

While both clastic and carbonate rocks are usually buried, compacted and ce-mented, carbonate sediments contain significant amounts of the metastable

Siliciclastic rocks are predominantly sandstones and shales that contain a wide variety of minerals and particles, including quartz, feldspar, clay miner-als, fragments of preexisting rocks and remnants of plants or animals. Carbon-ate rocks consist of a more limited group of minerals—predominantly calcite and dolomite.

Other minerals less commonly present in

carbonate rocks are phosphate and glau-conite; secondary minerals include anhy-drite, chert, quartz, clay minerals, pyrite, ankerite and siderite. These differences result in entirely different classification systems for clastic and carbonate rocks, with clastic rocks distinguished by grain composition and size, and carbonate rocks differentiated by such factors as depositional texture, grain or pore types, rock fabric and diagenesis.

One classic classification scheme by Dunham (1962), which defines the car-bonate according to the percentage of mud and skeletal fragments and how these skeletal fragments are bound to-gether (Figure 4).

A Flow unit is a connected body of rock with similar pore geometry. Differentiat-ing present-day flow units from original depositional units is becoming more im-portant than other aspects of classifica-tion because optimal well placement depends on understanding present-day

Figure 5. Idealized carbonate porosity types, modified from Choquette and Pray, 1970.

You don’t have to be a genius to construct a gold mine in a mountainous and remote location. You have to be ingenious.

Ingenious engineering solutions.

At Ausenco, we’re used to challenges, but designing and constructing China’s Jinfeng Gold BIOX® Project, the largest known Carlin-type deposit in China, presented a different level of difficulty altogether.

Rising to the occasion, we successfully navigated a labyrinth of geographic, cultural and geopolitical hurdles. See how we did it by visiting ausenco.com/casestudies

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minerals aragonite and magnesium cal-cite; calcite itself is readily dissolved and reprecipitated by percolating pore fluids.

Carbonate rocks are, therefore, more likely to undergo dissolution, mineral-ogical replacement and recrystallization. These effects vary according to tempera-ture, pore-fluid chemistry and pressure. Carbonate diagenesis commonly begins with marine cementation and boring by organisms at the sediment-water inter-face prior to burial. It continues through shallow burial with cementation, dis-solution and recrystallization, and then deeper burial where dissolution process-es known as pressure solution may form features as stylolites, which are pressure-solution seams.

When confronted with core samples or image logs from carbonate rocks, even casual observers notice the tremendous variety of pore types and sizes, and the irregular distribution of pores. Pores in clastic rocks occur predominantly be-

tween the grains, and they are uniformly distributed throughout the rock matrix. Intergranular pores are also present in carbonate rocks. Intragranular porosity may be common within carbonate grains as a primary pore type, or may develop when grains, such as shell fragments, are partially dissolved. Moldic porosity preserves the shapes of dissolved shell fragments or other constituents. Carbon-ate rocks typically have a far wider range of grain shapes than most siliciclastic rocks. Clearly, several types of poros-ity may coexist in a carbonate reservoir, ranging from

microscopic to cave-sized, which makes porosity and permeability estimation and calculation of reserves extremely dif-ficult. Idealized carbonate porosity types are summarized by Choquette and Pray (1970), later modified by Lucia (1995) to quantify interparticle pore space (Figure 5).

Another feature of carbonate rocks is

Figure 6. Borehole resistivity images, il-lustrating the different types of frac-tures identified from the image (left) and diplayed in 3D inTechlog (right).

their susceptibility to dissolution. At the surface, water and carbon dioxide form carbonic acid.

Dissolution by carbonic acid can lead to impressive karst topography, includ-ing sinkholes, caves and intricate drain-age patterns. Inactive karst systems, or

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paleokarst, may form reservoirs domi-nated by angular rock fragments pro-duced during cave collapse. For the oil industry, karst can be a mixed blessing—caves can cause catastrophic bit drops and fluid losses during drilling, but karst also can result in extremely high poros-ity and permeability (Trice, 2005).

Given the heterogeneity of carbonate rocks, it is not surprising that hydrocar-bon production from these formations often is heavily influenced by the pres-ence of faults and fractures. A natural fracture is a surface or a planar discon-tinuity, in which a loss of cohesion has taken place due to tectonic movements, erosion or some other physical deforma-tion. Normally the term fracture, con-trary to fault, refers to the rupture with no noticeable displacement along its surface. Natural fractures can have posi-tive, neutral or even negative effects on fluid flow through a reservoir depending on their nature, opening or other physi-cal characteristics. All kinds of reser-voirs can be subjected to the process of fracturing, and this process, at least at a localized and limited level, has been reported in almost all types of reservoir formations. Their positive or negative effects on the fluid flow mechanism sig-nificantly depend on whether they are open or closed as a result of diagenetic processes such as mineralization and compaction.

In such a system fractures can act either in a positive role, increasing the total ef-fective permeability and enhancing the

fluid flow from the matrix toward pro-duction wells, or in a negative role, in which they increase permeability anisot-ropy, or provide flow baffles (Van Golf-Racht, 1982). In addition, open factures can provide the main storage capacity in reservoirs with low matrix porosity. To achieve an accurate description of a fracture system a proper geological model is required. It is necessary to re-view the tectonic history and geological deformation of reservoir units. How-ever, developing a geological model for fractured reservoirs still remains more complicated than traditional sedimen-tary models, as the evaluation of petro-physical characteristics is highly variable and uncertain. Borehole images are the most accurate tool used to identify open or closed fractures, fracture orientation, density and aperture (Figure 6).

Evaluation of carbonate rocks entails full petrophysical and stratigraphic analysis of well logs and seismic data (Figure 7). New technology and methods greatly en-hance production by offering interpret-ers a better understanding of how reser-voir heterogeneity affects performance and which zones contribute to flow. Per-haps the most significant contributions come from a combination of core, nucle-ar magnetic resonance (NMR), borehole images, Elemental Capture Spectroscopy and Production Logs, together with high resolution seismic data.

Schlumberger is addressing carbonate issues more aggressively through their Schlumberger Dharan Carbonate Re-search Center (SDCR), Saudi Arabia. Innovative information-technology solu-tions for virtual teamwork will accelerate research progress and dissemination of successes worldwide. Key areas of activ-ity for the SDRC include land seismic-data acquisition, NMR and Dielectric log interpretation, water management and well stimulation in carbonate reservoirs.

References:

Akbar, M et al. 2000. A Snapshot of Carbonate Reservoir Evaluation, pp 20-41 Oilfield Review, 12, no. 4, Winter 2000/2001.

Choquette, P.W. and L.C. Pray, 1970. Ge-ologic Nomenclature and Classification of Porosity in Sedimentary Carbonates. American Association of Petroleum Ge-ologists Bulletin, V. 54, PP 207-250.

Dunham, R.J. 1962.Classification of Car-bonate rocks according to depositional texture. In ham, W.E. Classification of carbonate rocks. American Association of Petroleum Geologist memoir 1 pp 108-121

Embry A.F. and Klovan J.E., 1971. A Late Devonian Reef Tract on Northeastern Banks Island, N.W.T.,” Bulletin of Ca-nadian Petroleum Geology 19, no. 4 (De-cember 1971): 730-781.

Ham W.E. (ed). Classification of Car-bonate Rocks, American Association of Petroleum Geologists Memoir 1. Tulsa, Oklahoma, USA: AAPG, 1962.

Lucia F.J. 1999. Carbonate Reservoir Characterization. New York, New York, USA: Springer

Rankey, E. C., Reeder, S.L. & Garza-Perez , J.R., 2011. Controls on Links between Geomorphical and Surface Sedimento-logical Varaibility: Aitutaki and Maupiti Atolls, South Pacific Ocean. Journal of Sedimentary Research, 2011, V. 81, pp. 885-900

Trice, R. 2005; Challenges and Insights in Optimizing Oil Production from Middle east mega Karst Reservoirs. SPE 93679.

Van Golf-Racht, T.D. 1982. Fundamen-tals of Fractured Reservoir Engineering. Amsterdam; New York: Elsevier.

Williams, H.H. 1997. Play Concepts – northwest Palawan, Philippines. Journal of Asian Earth Sciences, Vol 15, Nos 2-3, PP251-273.

Acknowledgements

I would like to thank Neil Hurly, Stacy Reeder and Fabian van der Werth for their figures and careful editing. ■

Figure 7: Correlations between borehole and outcrop features to seismic signals at micro-, meso- and macroscales.



Weir Minerals has further expanded its product range with the addition of Linatex screening equipment to its portfolio.

Linatex, which has more than 50 years of screening technol-ogy and expertise, has tailored specific screening solutions for some of the world’s biggest mining companies, while Weir Minerals provides high-performance Linatex screen media to all sectors of the mining industry.

After decades of development and field performance testing, Linatex have created tough, low maintenance and efficient screens and screen media. In the quest for higher throughput, modern minerals processing plants require equipment to be ever increasing in capacity.

Weir Minerals is incorporating technology into screens and screen media to create lighter, energy-efficient and durable designs.

“Our R&D focus has always been on delivering the highest-per-formance screens and screen media in the industry. New de-signs and materials to improve maintainability and increased longevity are always in the pipeline. In late 2012, Linatex will be releasing some exciting new screen media designs and poly-urethane materials that will set a new standard in the industry,” says Chris Cable, Screen Media Manager for Weir Minerals.

Chris Darwin, Screen Sales Manager for Weir Minerals Aus-tralia, says the company’s entire screening equipment range, including screen media, can be tailored to suit the individual needs of specific applications.

“We have years of experience in mineral processing plants and our customers can be confident that the screening equip-ment we recommend will exceed their expectations and feed requirements.”

With the benefits of high efficiency, high capacity, low head-room and low operating and maintenance costs, Linatex screens and screen media are ideally suited for heavy-duty applications in any mineral processing plants, including coal, hard rock, industrial sands and quarrying.

Linatex vibrating screen range and features

Dewatering screens

Single and double deck banana screens

Single and double deck horizontal screens. ■

Weir adds Linatex to range



Amsterdam-based Swedish giant Sandvik employ 50,000 in 130 countries, and have a product range which covers mining, con-struction and materials.

Sandvik’s most recent addition to their range of surface mul-tipurpose exploration drill rigs, the DE811, features the next generation of innovative design, increasing both productivity and safety.

The DE811 is the successor to the already proven DE810, and features that contribute to the DE810’s operational flexibility have been preserved and enhanced with the DE811.

The DE811 handles reverse circulation drilling and core drill-ing with equal efficiency and can be used in surface applica-tions such as exploration, directional, coal bed methane (CBM) and geotechnical drilling.

Of particular interest is the positioning of the electronic con-trol system and console on the boom. This allows the operator to operate using a range of positions, up to 3 m (10 ft) from current position. They can also adjust the height and position for better viewing angles, and enjoy user-friendly fault diag-nostics.

By combing operations combined on joysticks, drilling and rod handling operations are now easier and safer.

The DE811 is also more powerful and features a new high torque rotation unit, a higher horsepower engine and im-proved hydraulic circuit.

This combined with greater depth capacity helps the DE811 raise the bar in this product area. ■

By: Leah B. Evangelista

Safety has long been an issue in the mining industry. Even though mining today is much safer than it was in the previ-ous decades, accidents in mines have always been highly pro-filed. When one visits a mine site, standard personal protective equipment prior to entering is a hard hat, safety shoes, reflec-tive vest, and safety eyewear.

However, more often than not, we neglect the importance of respiratory protection in mine sites. Philippine statistics showed that in the year 2005, more than 20,000 Filipinos died of chronic lower respiratory diseases (Philippines in Figures 2010, National Statistics Office).

Even though we have a natural body’s defense mechanism, constant exposure to respiratory hazards would trigger weak-ening of this defense, resulting to a more prone respiratory system.

Respiratory protection in mine sites is mostly used in areas were chemicals are being handled, where in fact, almost all ar-eas in a mine site should require the wearing of respirators.

Sub-surface mining requires a good ventilation system to dilute airborne contaminants and to force air stream in the mining work area. Both surface and sub-surface mining activities need protection against dust particles.

A significant development in the area of personal respiratory protection is 3M’ innovative Vflex system, which has design qualities suitable for the mining industry. ■

3M provides mine safety respiratory protection

Sandvik’s DE811 Rig Ideally Suited For Philippine Work

New Products



Responsible Mining Discussion on the Agenda at DavaoDelegation from Mindanao’s largest city give a positive message to joint chamber audience in Manila.

On October 17th at a Joint Manila Chambers lunch, Davao government and busi-ness representatives stressed the drive to expand business in outsourcing, agricul-ture, tourism and alternative energy, mindful of the sometimes acute power prob-lems in the area.

Conspicuous by its absence was any mention of mining and resources. This was swiftly addressed by Julian Payne, President of the Canadian Chamber. He asked whether Davao was open for mining, or the support services to mining.

The answer was clear and positive. Whilst a broad city guideline forbids mining, exceptions are allowed including a project by Holcim. Also support work for min-ing projects in the four surrounding provinces of Davao Del Sur, Davao Del Norte, Bukidnon and Cotabato is welcomed.

In fact mining itself is viewed with increasingly less anxiety. Sebastian Angliongto, Honorary Life Chairman of the Davao Chamber said “the views are changing, and previously anti-mining governors and mayors are pro-mining”. This was reinforced by Jason Magnaye, Officer-In-Charge of the Davao City Investment Promotion Cent-er: “what people are saying now is that they want responsible mining”.

The benefits to Davao are obvious. It’s the major city in Mindanao, with a law and order thanks to strict governance under the Duterte family’s leadership. It has strong universities whose 15.000 graduates each year would rather stay back home that mi-grate to Manila or abroad. Mining could provide a local boost that keeps more locals local.

Brian Lane, of Asian Tigers, posed the other crucial question: “how serious is the security threat?”.

The ensuing discussion drew out some broad conclusions: (1) that the new peace plan with Muslim separatists was a positive move, (2) that Davao was a long way from the danger areas, (3) that Davao, under the recent mayorships of the Duterte father and daughter, was very safe and (4) that better PR to get this message over is important – as Brian Lane said “perception is everything”.

There is no doubt that Davao provides a pleasant, low-cost base of operations for a wide range of companies. The clear determination of Davao’s business leaders to eradicate misperceptions and create opportunities means that the city is worth look-ing at, and any development of mining in Mindanao will naturally accelerate its rapid growth.

All in all Davao seems to have an open mind about mining. The largest taxpayer in Davao is Holcim’s cement quarry and plant, and Tampakan mining company Sagit-tarius have been invited to speak at the 2nd Davao Investment Conference which runs from November 15-17th (see www.davaochamber.com). It’s worth a look…..? ■

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