Responsible mining aided Nueva Vizcaya town earn 1st class rank – mayor

INQUIRER FILES

The mayor of Quezon, Nueva Vizcaya said her town leaped from a fourth class municipality to a first class municipality effective January 1, 2025.

Mayor Dolores Binwag noted the different infrastructure improvements, job creation, education support, and better healthcare services for its residents as tangible signs of development that were made possible with the help of responsible mining in their town.

“Now, our people have regular income, and the town is progressing,” she said.

READ: Mining firm eyes Abra province

According to Binwag, FCF Minerals Corporation, which operates the Runruno Gold Project, has been instrumental to her municipality’s economic growth.

“All the barangays, aside from Runruno where the mining project is, are receiving their share of the national wealth from the excise tax being paid by FCF to the government; this share is channeled to projects that would benefit the people such as a P150-million road project and other infrastructure,” she said.

Engineer Edgardo Sabado, the Provincial Planning and Development Officer of the provincial government of Nueva Vizcaya, said that 95-97 percent of the company’s employees are residents of the town, making FCF’s mining operations a major economic driver.

“Thus, FCF also contributes to the economy of the municipality when it comes to the salaries and wages being received by the employees,” he said, adding that the company’s operation is responsible for a significant part of the gross domestic product of the province.

For his part, Darren Bowden, CEO of Metals Exploration Plc and FCF, vowed to continue conducting mining operations “responsibly, sustainably, and in harmony with our communities and the environment.”

“We are never complacent when it comes to the safety of our host communities, and we are dedicated to improving their lives and helping them achieve a better quality of living for themselves and their families,” he said in a statement.

Hopeful for Abra

Bowden likewise said FCF subsidiary Yamang Mineral Corporation is in the process of securing an exploratory permit from the DENR Mines and Geosciences Bureau and looks forward to confirming initial findings of what may be one of the biggest copper and gold ore reserves in the province of Abra.

He explained that “this initiative reflects our confidence in the Philippines’ mineral potential and our commitment to upholding top safety and environmental standards in new projects.”

“If this comes into fruition, then we will aim to exceed our achievements in Nueva Vizcaya, this time for the people of Abra,” Bowden said.