Davao City- The Department of Science and Technology and the University of the Philippines have turned over the country’s environment-friendly gold-copper mineral processing plant to the provincial government of Compostela Valley.
Located in Nabunturan, the plant is the fourth facility in the Philippines that utilized what is called as community-led integrated non-mercury non-cyanide gold extraction method (CLINN GEM), which was developed by scientists from the University of the Philippines. Three other plants are in Benguet, Camarines Norte and Agusan del Norte.
The P50-million project was funded by the Philippine Council for Industry, Energy and Emerging Technology Research and Development.
According to UP professor Herman Mendoza, the plant employs practical technology so it no longer requires cyanide or mercury to dissolve rock and soil from raw gold or copper, hence it improves the mining operations of small-scale miners.
“This facility should remain a research facility for the mean time where people, the small-scale mining communities, should learn to use this technology, the CLINN GEM technology,” Mendoza advised.
During the field testing, it was reported that the CLINN GEM technology offers a more faster and cheaper way of extracting gold from the ore compared to the traditional way.
Mendoza added that more researches are needed to upgrade the plant because the ore found in Compostela Valley had unique characteristics compared to other provinces.
The local miners expressed thanks and support to the project and hopes that it will improve their livelihood.
“Pasalamat usab mi nga gitanaw sa gobiyerno kung unsaon makatabang dinha sa mga gagmay mga minero pinaagi sa mga proyekto nga magamit aron nga maminimal ang gasto ug aron makatabang pud sa environment (We thank the government for looking at how they can help the small miners through projects that can be used to minimize the cost and to also help the environment),” said Gil Indino, chairman of the Nabunturan Integrated Miners Development Cooperative.
