Zambales to export Pinatubo sand to Singapore

Gov. Hermogenes Ebdane yesterday said the provincial government will start exporting lahar sand from Mount Pinatubo to Singapore.

Ebdane inked a contract with BlueMax Tradelink Inc., a Filipino company with contacts in Singapore, for the dredging of the Bucao River in Botolan, Maculcol River in San Felipe, and Sto. Tomas River in San Marcelino.

He said the Bucao and Sto. Tomas rivers are the major waterways that drain from Mt. Pinatubo.

Ebdane said the provincial board passed a resolution charging P10 as extraction fee for every cubic meter of sand collected from the dredging project.

According to the governor, the provincial government stands to earn P4 million in monthly revenue.

Under the contract, Ebdane said 420,000 cubic meters of sand per month will be supplied to Singapore within a period of 18 months.

Aside from the extraction fee, local government units in Zambales will also have the opportunity to collect other charges like mineral tax and ore transport permit fee.

“We have so much sand from Pinatubo, and this has caused severe siltation of rivers and has often resulted in severe flooding in several towns and barangays,” Ebdane told reporters.

He said the provincial government has been paying dredging companies to remove sand from the rivers.

“Now, those who will dredge our rivers will pay us instead,” he added.

Ebdane said the sand to be extracted from Bucao and the other two dredging sites are heavy in metallic elements and would be processed before being exported to Singapore.

Clark Zapata, president of BlueMax, said his company was commissioned by Singaporean firms to supply sand for use in their reclamation and expansion projects.

By Ric Sapnu (philstar)

Olongapo City - HISTORIC JUNE CELEBRATION

Olongapo's 45th cityhood

113th Independence day

20th anniversary of Pinatubo Eruption (photo exhibit)

150th birth anniversary of Dr. Jose Rizal

 Reenacting the shot 20 years after. The aeta child in
the famous photo reunites with her saviour, Dick Gordon

Olongapo City - preparation for Historic June celebration

HISTORIC JUNE celebration will start 8am, June 15 at Olongapo Olongapo City Convention Center
Olongapo's 45th cityhood
113th Independence day
20th anniversary of Pinatubo Eruption (photo exhibit)
150th birth anniversary of Dr. Jose Rizal
** Dick Gordon will be the guest of honor **
everyone is invited!

Aetas to engage in small-scale mining soon, thanks to Mt. Pinatubo

IBA, Zambales- Indigenous peoples (IPs) of this province, commonly known as Aetas, will soon engage in small-scale mining-thanks to Mount Pinatubo.

Gov. Amor Deloso said a Hong Kong- based businessman, Peter Liu, has agreed to buy the precious “black sand” that was spat out by Mount Pinatubo when it erupted in 1991.

Some 30 Aetas families, he said, will benefit from the undertaking, which could start in the first week of October.

According to Deloso, the Maraunot River, located on the eastern part of Botolan, was clogged by black sand when Mount Pinatubo erupted. “Little did we metallic minerals,” he said.

He said there is an estimated 4 billion tons of such mineral deposit in the said river, which the Aeta families can extract and sell to Peter Liu.

About 60.7 percent of the black sand is iron, while 5 percent is titanium.
Black sand could be a source of high-quality iron. That’s why the prospect of small-scale mining is very good, Deloso said.

Deloso said he is looking at initially issuing small-scale mining permits covering 1,000 hectares, which he said will be divided equally into five to benefit 30 families who live in the area, the land being part of the Aeta’s ancestral domain.

He estimated that with 1,000 hectare being mined out, 2.5 million tons a year can be extracted in the next two years, with the Aeta families getting P20 per ton, while the provincial government will be able to generate income of $5 per ton.

“I’ve already talked to Mr. Liu and the Aeta families will finally benefit from the mining permit,” he said.

Deloso said Liu will use a machine that can separate metallic minerals such as iron and titanium from the black sand. The machine is worth $300 million. J. Mayuga