SR Metals bags top award for surface mining

MANILA, Philippines - Local firm SR Metals Inc. (SRMI) bagged recently the 2015 Presidential Mineral Industry Awards for Best Surface Mine, with a rating of 96.25 percent, from the Philippine Mining Safety and Environment Association (PMSEA).

The honor was bestowed on the wholly Filipino-owned company for its Tubay nickel mining project in Agusan Del Norte, which is a showcase of the best global mining practices and cutting-edge mining operations.

Mines and Geosciences Bureau director Leo Jasareno commended SRMI for accepting the challenge and coming out as one of the most responsible miners in the Philippines, particularly for its efforts in environment conservation.

“In 2013, it got the ISO 14001 Certification for Environmental Management System, the first and only nickel mine to have secured such a distinguished certification, and if I am not mistaken, the fourth metal mine in the Philippines to have done so,” Jasareno said.

“And as we have witnessed now, SRMI is now PMSEA recipient for surface mining operations,” he added.

SRMI president Miguel Alberto Gutierrez said the ISO certification makes their company compliant with international standards.

“The law tells you the basic rules to make you compliant in the country. ISO pushes you to improve, to do things better, and to not be relaxed,” Gutierrez said.

Now, as recipient of the best surface mining practices, Gutierrez said that they “never felt that we would be able to go toe-to-toe with the bigger players in the industry.”

Last year, the company received a Platinum Award for Surface Mining Operations Category at the 2014 Presidential Mineral Industry Awards with a rating of 93.52 percent. SRMI was also a runner-up at the 2014 PMSEA’s Safest Mine Awards, an honor it received again this year.

SR’s sister company, Galeo Equipment, also grabbed the Platinum Award for Exploration, and runner-up awards for both Forest Exploration and Safest Mine.