Chinese firms qualify for Diwalwal

DAVAO CITY – Chinese firms are among seven corporations which have pre-qualified to bid for the exploration and operation of the Upper Ulip-Paraiso portion of the gold-rush site in Mt. Diwalwal, Monkayo, Compostela Valley.

The country’s biggest mining firm, Philex Mining Corp., backed out shortly before the bidding is formally opened early next week, leaving only six other companies contending for the right to explore and operate the 1,620-hectare Upper Ulip-Paraiso parcel.

Those who pre-qualified for the Upper Ulip-Paraiso portion were China Sci-Tech Holding Ltd./Songxian Fengyuan Molybdenum; Junheung International Co. Ltd.; R-II Builders/Karangalan Resources and Mining Corporation; Mt. Sinai Mining Exploration and Development Corp.; MTL Phil. Inc.; and Mt. Apo Mining Development Corp./ Hangzhou Jiantong Group Co. Ltd.

According to Philippine Mining Development Corporation (PMDC) Southern Mindanao office director Rodulfo Palma, the Upper Ulip-Paraiso portion, considered a mining investment area (MIA), is only part of the entire 8,100-hectare Mt. Diwalwal mineral reservation area.

The winning bidder will reportedly enter into a 25-year agreement with PMDC, the corporate arm of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources.

The PMDC has been granted the environmental clearance certificate for the continued development of Mt. Diwalwal, said to have among the world’s richest deposits of gold ore.

Mining operations in Mt. Diwalwal started as early as the 1980s, with over 50,000 small-scale miners eking out a living at the gold-rush site.

The gold buying station of the Central Bank of the Philippines reportedly buys from Mt. Diwalwal miners an average of as much as P25-million worth of gold on regular days and up to P180 million during peak days.

But the gold at Mt. Diwalwal is reportedly not only sold to the Central Bank but also to smugglers whose daily transactions are double that of the government’s buying station.