RTG gets permit for Bunawan gold project

MANILA, Philippines - Australia-listed RTG Mining announced that an exploration permit has been granted for the Bunawan gold project in Agusan del Sur in which it has a stake.

In a disclosure to the Toronto stock exchange late Wednesday, the company said the exploration permit (EP-033-XIII) covers 677 hectares of working area.

RTG Mining gained access to the Bunawan project after its merger with Australian miner Sierra Mining Limited in June.

The Bunawan prospect, seen to contain high grade gold, is located next to the high grade Co-O mine owned by Medusa Mining Limited in the municipality of Bunawan in the province.

RTG Mining is composed of the management team that partnered with B2B Gold – formerly CGA Mining Limited—for the development and operation of the Masbate Gold Mine.

RTG said previous site investigation in the Bunawan exploration area “identified several highly prospective areas and walk-up drill targets.”

The Mines and Geosciences Bureau (MGB) lifted in March 2013 the two-year moratorium on the acceptance of applications for exploration permits.

The MGB stopped accepting all types of mining permit applications beginning January 2011 until its lifting on March 18, 2013.

While the moratorium was in place, the MGB cleaned the list of applications of unqualified developers and projects to retain only investors and developers with the financial capability and concrete plan to pursue the project.

The government also raised the capitalization requirements for developers as well as the filing fees to weed out speculators who use mining permits to influence stock prices.

The MGB said there were permit holders in the past who hold on to permits but do not develop their tenements.

A moratorium on the granting of new mining contracts, however, stays pending the legislation of a new industry revenue-sharing scheme with the government.